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Discovery  and  Conquest 


of  the 


New  World 

Containing  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus 

By    WASHINGTON    IRVING,    Creator  of  American  Classics 


A  SEPARATE  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE 

Conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru 

By  W.  W.  ROBERTSON,  D.D.,  F.R.S., 

The  Eminent  English  Historian  of  the  University  of  Edinburg. 


A  Perfect  History  of  the  United  States 

From  the  works  of  BANCROFT,  F1SKE,  BLAINE,  GRANT,  SHERMAN,  JOHNSTON 

and  others. 

By  BENJAHIN  RUSH  DAVENPORT, 

Master  of  the  Art  of  Critical  Condensation 


Introduction  by 

The  HON.  MURAT  HALSTEAD, 

Most  Renowned  Journalist  and  Columbian  S*udent  of  Both  Americas. 


Nearly  Six  Hundred 

illustrations  from  the  Greatest  Artists,  Portraying  Every  Scene  of  the  World's  Grandest  Drama. 

An  Absolutely  Complete  Columbian  Memorial. 
A.  D.  I492      A.  D.  1892 

LUM  SMITH   PUBLISHING    HOUSE, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


L.THE  publishers,  having  invested  §25,000  alone  in  the  procuring  of  drawings  and  engravings  contained 
•^  within  this  book,  hereby  give  due  notice  to  everybody  whom  it  may  concern,  that,  having  complied 
with  all  the  requirements  of  Congress  in  copyrighting  the  engravings  as  such,  individually  and  singly,  the 
right  whereof,  though  made  for  them  in  France,  England,  Belgium,  and  the  United  States,  they  claim  as 
proprietors,  they  will  prosecute  any  infringement  thereon,  with  all  the  rigor  of  the  law. 


PREFACE  AND  INTRODUCTION. 


HEN  the  idea  of  preparing  an  Introduction  for  this  vol- 
ume was  first  presented  to  me,  the  undertaking  appeared 
so  stupendous  as  to  be  absolutely  appalling.  With  diffi- 
dence would  even  the  most  presumptuous  approach  sub- 
jects of  such  magnificent  magnitude,  as  the  Discovery 
and  Conquest  of  the  New  World,  the  Life  and  Advent- 
's ^^kM''^^  ures  °f  Christopher  Columbus,  the  Conquest  of  Mexico 
^s/jl  and  Peru,  the  History  of  the  United  States.    To  properly 

introduce  to  the  multitudinous  readers  of  this  book  the 
Subjects,  Authors,  and  Illustrations,  seemed  a  task  of  such  gigantic  pro- 
portions as  to  create  a  feeling  of  awe  in  the  breast  of  the  most  intrepid. 
No  narration  save  one  only — the  story  of  the  Saviour — can  appeal  so  pow- 
erfully to  the  patriotic  people  of  our  land  as  the  Life  and  Adventures  of 
Christopher  Columbus — no  narrator  so  illustrious  and  competent  as  Wash- 
ington Irving,  the  creator  of  the  classics  of  this  continent — no  account  of 
conquest  in  the  annals  of  time  as  that  of  Mexico  and  Peru  !  A  concatena- 
tion of  tragedies  producing  uncounted  treasures,  resulting  in  the  creation 
of  Spain's  overshadowing  power  in  Europe,  whose  blood-cemented  castles 
and  fortresses  from  the  Danube  to  Gibraltar  in  the  powerful  grasp  of 
Charles  V.  awed  the  nations  of  the  Old  World.  The  groans  and  sighs  of 
Montezuma  and  the  Incas,  breathed  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  became,  when 
echoed  across  the  watery  Avaste  of  the  Atlantic,  victorious  shouts  of  Span- 
ish triumph  in  the  Netherlands.  The  tyranny  and  oppression  of  Alva  in 
the  Low  Countries,  was  only  made  possible,  and  resulted  from  the  power 
purchased  with  the  gold  wrung  by  brutal  cruelty  from  the  natives  of  Amer- 
ica, by  Spanish  captains,  Avho,  like  Cortes  and  Pizarro,  built  of  the  mangled 
bodies  of  the  gentle  natives  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  a  foundation  and  support, 
for  the  throne  of  his  most  Christian  Majesty  of  Spain. 

The  History  of  the  United  States,  replete  with  matter  of  never-fail- 
ing interest  to  all  men,  an  invariable  source  of  pride  and  gratification  to 
the  citizens  of  this  glorious  country,  a  record  of  that  Nation  that  for  more 
than  one  hundred  years  has  held  aloft  the  torch  of  Liberty  illuminating 
the  World  with  the  light  of  independence — whose  starry  banner,  by  the 


(ix) 


X  PREFACE   AND    INTRODUCTION. 

champions  of  Freedom  unfurled,  has  proven  a  beacon  of  hope  for  the 
oppressed — whose  example  and  glory  so  potently  arouse  a  spirit  of  emu- 
lation and  the  demand  for  government,  for  the  people,  by  the  people,  that 
to-day  no  throne  exists  upon  the  American  continent. 

Entering  upon  what  would  naturally  be  supposed  a  most  arduous 
undertaking,  the  preparation  of  this  Introduction,  I  became  aware  of  the 
fact  that  the  magnitude  of  the  subjects,  the  exalted,  unquestioned  posi- 
tion of  Washington  Irving,  which  had  seemed  to  present  insurmountable 
difficulties,  actually  facilitated  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  of  my 
efforts.  A  very  pigmy  may  introduce  a  giant — the  faintest  streak  of  light 
in  the  east  is  sufficient  to  herald  the  coming  of  the  orb  of  day.  The 
untutored  wandering  Arab  of  the  Desert,  the  unlettered  mariner  of  the 
deep,  can  with  unfailing  accuracy  point  out  the  grand  constellations  of 
the  heavens.  The  existence  of  vast  superiority  in  any  of  the  creations 
of  God,  obviates  the  necessity  of  introduction ;  the  natural  appreciation 
in  mankind  of  that  towering  above  or  surpassing  all  surrounding  objects 
of  like  kind  makes  introduction  supererogatory. 

Blazing  planets  of  the  dome  above,  by  dazzling  brilliancy  command 
the  wondering  admiration  of  the  inhabitants  of  Earth  ;  no  astronomical 
knowledge  or  erudite  introduction  is  needed  to  attract  attention.  Wash- 
ington Irving  is  truly  the  North  Star  in  the  Literary  firmament,  whose 
position  and  prominence  is  so  well  known,  certain  and  pronounced,  that 
the  veriest  tyro  in  the  field  of  letters  could  without  hesitation  expatiate 
upon  the  many  beauties  and  excellencies  of  the  works  of  one,  who  has  been 
the  guiding  star  of  many  compassless  wanderers  seeking  that  which  is 
purest  and  best  in  the  English  language — who  has  shed  undying  lustre 
upon  the  literature  of  America.  It  is  a  joy  forever  that  the  pen  of  Wash- 
ington Irving  threw  the  magic  of  its  light  and  color  upon  a  theme  of  such 
superlative  interest  as  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus. 
There  was  no  writer  so  competent  as  he  for  the  incomparable  narrative. 
His  genial  fancy  has  exquisitely  decorated  the  symmetrical  fabric  of  facts. 
There  is  abundant  authenticity  for  the  architecture  that  his  genius  illu- 
minates ;  he  has  drawn  aside  the  veil  of  obscurity,  uncertainty  and  doubt, 
revealing  the  harmonious  proportions  of  that  Temple  of  Fame  constructed 
by  the  might  of  his  wonderful  talent  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  dis- 
coverer of  his  native  land. 

Irving  states  the  object  of  the  work:  "To  relate  the  deeds  and  fort- 
unes of  the  Mariner  who  first  had  the  judgment  to  divine  and  the  intre- 
pidity to  brave  the  mysteries  of  the  perilous  deep ;  and  who  by  his  hardy 
genius,  his  inflexible  constancy,  and  his  heroic  courage,  brought  the  ends 
of  the  earth  into  communication  with  each  other,  the  narrative   of  his 


PREFACE   AND    INTRODUCTION.  XI 

troubled  life  is  a  link  which  connects  the  history  of  the  Old  World  with 
that  of  the  New."  While  there  was  a  fabulous  time  before  the  era  of  his- 
tory in  the  Old  World — Asia,  Africa  and  Europe — its  dawning  was  opaque, 
shrouded  in  mystery,  mythical  traditions,  of  tardy  and  precarious  growth  ; 
the  history  of  the  New  World  springs  fully  developed,  mature,  perfect, 
into  existence  from  the  gradual,  intellectual  development  of  the  Old 
World,  as  Minerva  sprang  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter,  armed  against  doubt, 
darkness  and  uncertainty.  The  Story  of  the  American  Continent  opens 
with  a  romance ;  it  is  Irving's  connecting  link  between  the  history  of  the 
Old  World  and  the  New — the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Colum- 
bus, his  marvelous  adventures  and  achievements.  Beginning  with  a  young 
man's  beautiful  ambitious  dream ;  the  alluring  atmosphere  of  hope,  the 
firm  support  of  faith,  the  sturdy  assurance  of  science,  the  courage  that 
spanned  the  abyss  of  the  unknown  with  the  splendid  arch  of  unfailing 
promise,  dazzling  fortune  and  honor,  power  and  glory,  ending  with  dis- 
appointment, sorrow,  chains,  poverty,  and  Immortality.  The  opening 
scenes  are  in  the  loveliest  lands  of  the  Old  World,  Italy  and  Spain,  sunny 
climes  where  the  olive  and  orange  luxuriate,  and  ever-blooming  roses  per- 
fume the  air  with  enduring  and  delicious  odors.  On  the  beautiful  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean,  where,  as  at  Genoa,  the  superb  marble  mountains 
stand  their  feet  in  the  silken  sea — that  sea  whereon  the  navies  of  Tyre, 
Carthage,  Rome,  Byzantium,  Genoa  and  Venice,  strove  for  mastery  of  the 
waters — that  were  the  theater  of  imperial  warfare  and  pageantry,  until 
Columbus,  seeking  the  Eastern,  found  the  Western  Indies,  mistaking  in 
the  vast  sweep  of  his  imagination,  and  scope  of  his  calculation,  Cuba  for 
Japan,  expanded  the  area  of  the  dominion  of  man  over  gigantic  oceans, 
that  embrace  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We  see  in  the  pages  of  Irving, 
Columbus,  the  Italian  adventurer,  in  the  Spanish  camp.  The  conquest  of 
Granada  had  occurred.  Castile  and  Arragon  were  united  by  the  marriage 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  There  is  the  Alhambra ;  the  snowy  mountains 
that  look  afar  upon  the  Mediterranean.  We  hear  the  recitation  of  the 
deeds  of  chivalry,  the  last  sigh  of  the  Moor  defeated  and  driven  from  the 
land  he  had  adorned.  We  note  the  pride  of  the  victorious  Spaniards,  the 
womanly  charm  and  generosity  of  Isabella,  undertaking  the  voyage  of  dis- 
covery in  behalf  of  her  own  crown,  and  offering  her  jewels  therefor ;  the 
hero  of  the  age,  rich  in  religious  fervor,  brave  in  his  devotion,  certain  of 
the  promised  land  beyond  the  sea.  At  last  the  little  fleet  set  sail ;  the 
trade  winds  waft  them  on  until  the  seamen  remonstrate,  are  ready  to  mu- 
tiny ;  authority  exhausted,  persuasion  is  employed.  There  are  signs  of 
land ;  a  carved  stick,  a  bush  with  berries,  birds ;  the  signal  gun  that  told 
of  the  success  of  the  voyage ;  the  green  islands,  strange  people,  the  cere- 


Xll  PREFACE    AND    INTRODUCTION. 

monicms  landing  and  thanksgiving,  the  planting  of  the  Cross  and  the  royal 
banner  of  Spain.  The  stormy  voyage  home  with  captives  and  fruits  from 
the  unknown  New  World  ;  the  triumphant  return,  congratulations,  proces- 
sions, roj^al  favor,  popular  acclamation ;  other  voyages ;  the  jealousies  of 
the  envious  and  haughty,  the  malice  of  the  mean  ;  the  splendid  dreamer, 
still  undaunted,  seeking  new  lands,  dealing  in  lofty  spirit  with  ingrati- 
tude. His  royal  patroness  gone  in  sorrow  to  her  rest,  he  is  deprived  of 
his  rights  and  liberty,  sent  home  from  that  New  World  which  he  had 
revealed  in  chains,  made  free  by  public  opinion.  He  goes  at  last  to  his 
grave,  cast  down,  but  'glorious  ;  impoverished,  but  illustrious.  His  monu- 
ment is  the  crowning  continent  of  a  hemisphere,  though  named  for  an- 
other. His  is  true  glory,  which,  Cicero  says,  "  takes  root,  and  even  spreads. 
All  false  pretenses,  like  flowers,  fall  to  the  ground ;  nor  can  any  counter- 
feit last  long."^  As  Columbia,  our  nation  lives  in  song  and  story.  He  has 
secure  and  splendid  immortality,  with  assurance  of  everlasting  remem- 
brance beyond  all  conquerors,  one  of  the  far  shining  figures  that  the 
centuries  disclose  to  the  light  rather  than  shadow.  The  nation  to  which 
he  gave  continents  and  the  richest  islands  of  the  seas,  has  lost  her  power, 
but  not  her  pride. 

The  wealth  she  gathered  from  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru  has 
flown  away  on  the  wings  of  vanity  and  profligacy.  The  great  nation  of 
the  land  he  found,  which  is  about  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  his  Dis- 
covery, is  not  of  the  Spanish  blood.  Such  magnificent  possibilities  for  the 
brush  of  the  painter,  the  pencil  of  the  artist,  have  not  been  neglected ; 
with  eager  eyes  and  inspired  souls  has  the  genius  of  the  Old  and  New 
World  embraced  the  subject,  portraying  with  wonderful  exactness  and 
fidelity  each  scene  in  the  career  of  Columbus  which  has  been  so  pregnant 
with  momentous  results  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  It  is  a  matter  of  con- 
gratulation that  a  collection  of  the  copies  of  those  masterpieces  of  art  has 
been  made  with  the  care,  judgment,  and  unparalleled  patience  evinced  by 
the  gathering  together  of  the  Illustrations  in  this  volume.  The  discrimi- 
nation, intelligence,  and  research  which  is  evident  in  the  careful  adjust- 
ment of  each  illustration,  to  add  vividness  to  the  matchless  text  of  Irving, 
increases  the  province  of  this  book  in  a  wonderful  manner,  augmenting 
its  field  of  operations  for  good,  by  creating  an  instantaneous  impression 
on  the  minds  of  the  youth  of  our  country,  leading  them  to  read  and  realize 
events  and  scenes  recorded  and  described  in  the  marvelous  Story  of  Colum- 
bus, engendering  an  interest  and  affection  for  the  book,  which,  with  the 
Holy  Bible,  should  be  the  most  valued  treasures  of  the  future  electors  of 
the  Union ;  inculcating  and  enlivening  the  spirit  of  patriotism  in  the 
hearts  of  the  young,  by  presenting  in  a  realistic  manner  the  sufferings, 


PREFACE   AND    INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

sacrifices,  and  sorrows  of  those  who  bequeath  this  land  of  freedom  to  them. 
Our  future  honor  and  glory  rest  in  the  keeping  of  those  we  are  educating. 
It  is  the  safeguard  of  our  national  existence  to  inspire  feelings  of  national 
pride  and  patriotism.  Say  with  Shakspeare,  "  Had  I  a  dozen  sons,  each 
in  my  love  alike,  I  had  rather  eleven  die  nobly  for  their  country,  than  one 
voluptuously  surfeit  out  of  action." 

Mexico  and  Peru,  the  centers  of  the  most  advanced  civilization  in  the 
Western  hemisphere,  afford  such  a  mass  of  material,  and  offer  such  fas- 
cinating fields  for  conjecture,  that  the  proverbial  Scotch  stubborness  dis- 
played by  Dr.  Robertson,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  resisting  the 
temptation  to  stray  into  the  realm  of  speculation  in  his  Conquest  of  Mex- 
ico and  Peru,  adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  his  contribution  to  the  History 
of  the  New  World.  The  origin  alone  of  the  Aztec  and  Peruvian  people 
affords  such  opportunities  for  disquisition  and  learned  research,  that  com- 
mendation is  spontaneous  upon  finding  thst  Dr.  Bobcrtson,  like  the  true 
historian  and  Scotchman,  has  abstained  therefrom.  An  origin  so  variously 
ascribed,  as  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  American  continent,  to  such  va- 
rious sources,  can  not  fail  to  escape  the  speculative  philosopher.  Accord- 
ing to  Arius  Montanus,  Mexico  was  the  true  Ophir  of  the  Jews,  the  early 
settlers  of  the  country.  Lopez  de  Gomara  insinuates  that  the  Canaanites 
driven  from  the  Land  of  Promise  by  the  Jews,  first  peopled  this  hemisphere. 
Learned  Grotius  supposed  North  America  colonized  by  the  Norwegians, 
and  Peru  founded  by  the  Chinese.  Irving  writes :  "  I  pause  with  reveren- 
tial awe  when  I  contemplate  the  ponderous  tomes  in  different  languages, 
with  which  they  have  endeavored  to  solve  this  question  so  involved  in 
clouds  of  impenetrable  obscurity." 

Reluctantly  the  stubborn  spirit  of  the  Scotchman  is  forced  to  record 
in  the  blood-besprinkled  pages  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru  scenes 
and  events  which  fidelity  to  facts  demands.  The  most  reluctant  delineator 
of  scenes  as  dramatic  and  picturesque  as  Cortes,  the  conqueror  of  Mexico, 
destroying  his  ships,  the  last  tie  between  him  £nd  the  Old  World,  is  forced 
into  the  fields  of  fancy.  The  hardihood  and  confidence  of  a  handful  of 
Spanish  adventurers,  trusting  their  safety  to  their  swords  alone,  contend- 
ing against  unknown  numbers,  supported  by  faith  in  the  superiority  of 
their  Spanish  blood  and  spirit.  The  insignificant  band  decimated  by 
unknown  and  dreadful  diseases.  Conflicts  with  overwhelming  numbers, 
desperation  born  of  despair.  Captured  cities,  arduous  marches  through 
pestilential  marshes.  Majestic  Montezuma.  Magnificent  monuments, 
strange  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  of  an  almost  recognized  religion.  Beau- 
tiful women  garlanded  with  new  and  odoriferous  flowers.  At  last  pause, 
O  !  pen  of  the  narrator,  ere  recording  that  stain  upon  Christianity  and 


XIV  PREFACE    AND    INTRODUCTION. 

Civilization — butchery,  brutality,  barbarous  cruelty.  Ruthless  invaders 
carrying  the  banner  of  that  Cross  which  had  come  to  the  Old  World 
when  oppressed  by  the  power  of  Rome,  as  a  beacon  light  of  promise  :  the 
Standard  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  to  the  Aztec  and  Peruvian,  is  an 
awful  oriflamme  of  war,  carrying  horror,  destruction,  and  disaster.  Pal- 
aces of  gorgeous  grandeur,  temples  of  marvelous  architecture,  melt  before 
that  all-consuming  sign.  Empires  cease  to  exist.  Christian  men,  with 
the  cry  of  Gold,  carry  destruction  to  a  civilization  as  old  as  that  of  Egypt. 
Cortes  and  Pizarro  destroy  Montezuma  and  the  Incas,  and  garner  gold  in 
untold  millions  for  the  glory  of  Spain  ;  but  their  crimes,  in  the  retribution 
of  the  ages,  arise  to  Heaven  in  malodorous  incense,  supplicating  that  jus- 
tice which  fate  has  accorded  to  Spain.  Vistas  of  such  grandeur  and  prom- 
ise never  before  were  presented  to  artistic  eyes  ;  the  most  famous,  brush 
and  pencil  in  hand,  hasten  to  perpetuate  the  events  and  incidents  of  every 
phase  of  the  conquests  of  Cortes  and  Pizarro  with  unfailing  fidelity  to  the 
facts,  registering  each  act  of  cruelty  inflicted  by  the  invaders  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  the  New  World.  The  reproduction  of  the  pictures  of  mas- 
ter hands  accentuate  every  line  of  Robertson's  text. 

It  behooves  the  youthful  American,  in  considering  the  History  of  the 
United  States,  to  "tread  lightly;  'tis  holy  ground  here."  In  the  sanctu- 
ary of  your  soul  embalm  the  deeds  of  those  who  bequeathed  to  you  Liberty 
and  Self-government.  The  thunder  of  the  guns  at  Bunker  Hill,  resound- 
ing at  the  Cowpens  in  the  Carolinas,  echoing  at  Yorktown,  should  awaken 
a  re-echo  and  reverberation  in  }'oitr  bosoms.  Remembering  the  grand 
heritage  of  Freedom,  let  us  pause  to  place  a  wreath  of  immortelles  upon 
the  tomb  of  the  Past.  Impoverished  pilgrims  of  New  England,  banished 
cavaliers  of  Virginia,  persecuted  Huguenots  of  the  Carolinas,  paupers  of 
Georgia,  outcasts  of  the  civilation  of  the  Old  World,  conquer  an  Empire 
for  us,  their  progeny ;  contending  with  savage  hordes,  struggling  against 
strange  conditions  of  climate  and  soil ;  victorious  at  last  in  the  contest 
against  natives  and  nature.  Called  by  inherent  love  of  liberty  to  try  the 
arbitrament  of  war  with  the  most  powerful  nation  of  earth — England — 
George  Washington  of  Virginia,  descendant  of  the  Cavaliers ;  Putnam  of 
New  England,  representative  of  the  Puritans  ;  Marion  of  South  Carolina, 
son  of  the  suffering  Huguenots,  appear ;  Bunker  Hill,  Valley  Forge,  Sara- 
toga, Yorktown,  scenes  of  such  suffering  and  sacrifice  as  Sparta  alone  could 
equal.  Creation  of  the  Constitution,  to  the  young  American  as  holy  as 
the  Word  of  God  given  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai,  for  upon  that  Rock  we 
and  our  descendants  shall  build  everlasting  prosperity  and  glory.  Peace 
proclaimed,  National  existence  recognized,  the  United  States  takes  her 
place  in  the  galaxy  of  nations.    The  "Young  Eagle  of  the  West"  unfurled 


PREFACE   AND    INTRODUCTION.  XV 

her  starry  standard  to  the  air.  Again  by  injustice  and  exaction  England 
forces  war  upon  us.  Yankee  courage  and  seamanship  cause  the  Mistress 
of  the  Seas  to  acknowledge  our  rights,  and  to  again  cry  Peace.  Ere  the 
olive  branch  can  be  grasped,  Southern  and  Western  valor  have  wrested 
from  the  veterans  of  the  Peninsula,  victory  at  New  Orleans. 

Years  of  prosperity,  war  with  Mexico,  added  territory,  new  stars  to 
«*ur  Flag,  and  then,  alas !  rebellion,  civil  war.  The  acme  of  courage  is 
reached  in  this  sorrowful  decade.  Grant  and  Lee,  Jackson  and  Sherman, 
Sheridan  and  Johnson — the  American  meets  the  American.  Grand,  glori- 
ous, but  sorrowful  pictures.  The  grand  old  Flag  floats  once  again  over 
our  land,  and  may  its  sway  be  undisputed,  "  now  and  forever." 

To  the  History  of  the  Colonies  of  North  America  and  the  United 
States  have  been  added  memoirs  and  narratives  of  those  whose  names 
shall  illuminate  the  pages  of  our  history  forever — Grant,  Sherman,  John- 
son, Blaine  and  others. 

Mr.  Davenport  has  with  acumen  unusual  recognized  the  relative  value 
of  each  work,  and  his  condensation  is  most  complete.  He  has  had  a  mass 
of  material  to  deal  with,  but  with  discrimination  most  remarkable  has  he 
utilized  only  the  fittest  to  create  a  vade  mecum  of  American  History.  The 
Publishers  of  this  work  deserve  the  gratitude  of  countless  millions  of 
unborn  citizens  of  this  great  Republic  for  placing  it  within  their  grasp. 
May  we  and  our  children  ever  feel  reverence  for  the  great  and  good 
George  Washington,  first  ever  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen ;  Thomas 
Jefferson,  prudent  pilot  of  our  Ship  of  State ;  Andrew  Jackson,  just,  gen- 
erous, and  rigorous ;  Abraham  Lincoln,  to  whom  the  Recording  Angels  of 
Freedom  have  given  immortality  ;  Grant,  "  that  grand  old  silent  soldier," 
gone  in  glory  to  the  grave,  around  whom  gather,  like  stars  about  some 
gigantic  planet,  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Butler,  Hancock,  Howard,  and  a  host 
of  other  gallant  sons  of  the  Union,  who,  in  the  dark  days  of  our  trouble, 
warded  off  the  vengeful  stroke  from  the  old  Flag,  which  to-day  floats 
serenely  over  the  reunited  States  of  the  Union.  Lee,  Jackson,  Johnson, 
Stewart,  types  of  valor  and  chivalry,  whose  names  and  deeds  call  forth 
encomiums  from  all  nations.  The  veriest  amateur  of  America  would 
become  inspired  by  thoughts  of  national  glory  when  reading  such  a  rec- 
ord, creating  gems  that  would  do  credit  to  an  Angelo  or  Raphael.  Then 
small  wonder  is  it  that  the  Publishers  have  found  such  a  bounteous  field 
of  illustration  from  which  to  collect  pictures  for  this  condensed  History. 
Some  subjects  beggar  the  power  of  the  pen :  I  have  made  no  Introduction, 
for  these  subjects  mightily  introduce  themselves. 


CONTENTS. 

Book  I. 


Preface • IX 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  Sagas  (Legends)  of  Leif  Eric,  son  of  Eric  Rauda  (The  Red)  and  Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  fail  to  establish  the 

fact  that  the  Vinland  visited  by  them  was  on  the  continent  of  America 53 

CHAPTER  I. 

BIRTH,    PARENTAGE,    EDUCATION,    AND    EARLY    LIFE   OF   COLUMBUS. 

Christopher  Columbus  born  in  the  city  of  Genoa  about  1435-6 — Is  the  son  of  a  woolcomber — Has  been 
claimed  by  many  noble  houses  to  be  of  their  own  illustrious  descent. — The  fact  not  material  to  his  fame 
— His  son  Fernando's  views  express  the  true  feeling  on  the  subject — Columbus  the  oldest  of  four  children 
— Evinces  a  strong  passion  during  his  earliest  boyhood  for  geographical  knowledge — Attributes  his  suc- 
cess in  after  life  to  his  early  inclinations — Supposed  to  have  been  sent  to  the  University  of  Pavia,  where 
he  remains  but  a  short  time — Character  of  Columbus — Enters  nautical  life  at  the  age  of  14 — Obscurity 
rests  upon  this  part  of  his  early  life — Supposed  to  have  made  his  first  sea  voyages  under  a  hardy  captain 
of  his  own  name — A  seafaring  life  at  that  time  peculiarly  full  of  hazard  and  enterprise — Commercial  ex- 
peditions resemble  warlike  cruises — Armadas  are  continually  fitted  out  by  petty  sovereigns  to  prey  upon 
each  other's  domains  and  commerce — Mahometan  pirates  scour  the  narrow  seas — Columbus  engages  in 
a  naval  expedition  to  make  a  descent  upon  Naples  when  24  years  old.  Supposed  to  distinguish  him- 
self with  a  separate  command  by  cutting  out  a  galley  in  the  port  of  Tunis.  An  interval  of  a  few  years 
occurs  during  which  only  shadowy  traces  of  himself  are  found — Sails  with  Colombo  the  younger,  a 
famous  corsair,  and  waylays  four  Venetian  galleys — Narrowly  escapes  drowning 57 

CHAPTER  II. 

PROGRESS    OF    DISCOVERY    UNDER    PRINCE   HENRY    OF    PORTUGAL — RESIDENCE   OF    COLUMBUS    IN 
LISBON IDEAS    CONCERNING    ISLANDS    IN    THE    OCEAN. 

The  age  of  discovery  ushered  in  by  Prince  Henry  ("  The  Navigator  ")  of  Portugal — He  makes  himself 
master  of  the  astronomical  science  of  the  ancients  and  the  Arabians  of  Spain — Struggle  against  the 
ignorance  and  prejudices  of  mankind — Establishes  a  naval  college  and  observatory — Obtains  a  papal 
bull  investing  Portugal  with  authority  over  all  lands  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean — Arrival  of  Columbus  in 
Lisbon,  1470 — Pen  picture  of  his  character  and  person — Becomes  acquainted  with  Do5a  Felipa  and 
marries  her — Removes  to  Porto  Santo — Ideas  concerning  islands  in  the  ocean — The  fable  of  St.  Bran- 
dan,  a  Scotch-Irish  priest  who  was  accredited  with  first  having  discovered  America  in  the  sixth  century.     64 

CHAPTER  III. 

GROUNDS    ON    WHICH    COLUMBUS    FOUNDS    HIS    BELIEF    OF    UNDISCOVERED    LANDS    IN    THE   WEST. 

Correspondence  of  Columbus  with  Paulo  Toscanelli — Is  encouraged  by  Toscanelli.  to  seek  India  by  a 
western  route,  and  thus  reach  Marco  Polo's  Cathay,  since  ascertained  to  be  the  northern  coast  of  China 
— Sends  him  a  new  Map,  projected  partly  according  to  Ptolemy  and  partly  according  to  the  description 

(xvii) 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

of  Marco  Polo — Columbus  gathers  information  bearing  upon  his  theory  from  veteran  mariners,  among 
whom  is  his  brother-in-law — It  becomes  fixed  in  his  mind  with  singular  firmness — He  reads,  as  he 
supposes,  his  contemplated  discovery  foretold  in  "  Holy  Writ,"  and  shadowed  forth  darkly  in  the  Proph- 
ecies— Envy  and  pusillanimity  give  countenance  to  idle  tales  of  his  having  received  previous  information 
of  the  Western  World,  by  a  tempest-tossed  mariner J\ 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EVENTS    IN    PORTUGAL     RELATIVE    TO    DISCOVERY PROPOSITIONS    OF    COLUMBUS    TO    THE 

PORTUGUESE   COURT. 

Makes  a  voyage  to  the  Island  of  Thule  (Iceland) — John  II.  ascends  the  throne  of  Portugal — Calls  upon 
his  men  of  science  to  devise  some  means  of  giving  greater  scope  and  certainty  to  navigation — His 
two  physicians,  Roderigo  and  Joseph,  the  latter  a  Hebrew,  together  with  the  German,  Martin  Behem, 
apply  the  astrolabe  to  navigation — Propositions  of  Columbus  to  the  Portuguese  court — Obtains  an 
audience  of  King  John — Is  referred  to  a  learned  junto  (council) — This  scientific  body  treats  the  project 
as  extravagant  and  visionary — A  second  council,  over  which  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta  presides,  is  equally 
unfavorable  to  the  propositions  of  Columbus — King  John  is  dissatisfied  with  their  decisions — The  wily 
Bishop  suggests  a  stratagem  by  which  all  the  advantages  of  discovery  might  be  secured  without  com- 
mitting the  dignity  of  the  crown  by  entering  informal  negotiations  with  Columbus — They  privately 
dispatch  a  caraval  (small  boat)  to  pursue  the  designated  route  of  Columbus — The  pilots  lose  all  cour- 
age when  beset  by  tempestuous  weather  and  put  back  to  Lisbon — They  ridicule  the  project — Columbus' 
wife  dying,  he  leaves  Portugal — Uncertainty  of  his  next  movements — Supposed  to  have  gone  to  Genoa 
— Thence  to  Venice — Engages  his  brother  Bartholomew  to  lay  his  propositions  before  Henry  VII.  of 
England — Himself  goes  to  Spain  about  1485 .     J  J 

CHAPTER  V. 

FIRST    ARRIVAL   OF    COLUMBUS    IN    SPAIN CHARACTER    OF   THE    SPANISH    SOVEREIGNS. 

Columbus  arrives  in  Spain — The  Prior  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena  of  the  convent  of  La  Rabida,  near  Palos, 
struck  with  the  appearance  of  a  stranger  (Columbus),  accompanied  by  a  young  boy,  the  latter  of  whom 
is  receiving  bread  and  water  from  his  porter,  enters  into  conversation  with  him — Becomes  interested 
and  detains  him  as  his  guest — Calls  in  his  learned  friends,  amongst  whom  is  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon, 
who  give  the  project  of  Columbus  their  decided  approbation — The  friar  advises  Columbus  to  go  to 
court — Gives  him  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  F.  de  Talevera,  confessor  of  the  queen,  and  himself 
takes  charge  of  young  Diego — Pinzon  offers  money  for  the  journey — Columbus  sets  out  for  Cordova  i486 
— Character  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  ....         .         ........    3  K 

CHAPTER  VI.      ' 

PROPOSITIONS    OF    COLUMBUS    TO    THE   COURT   OF   CASTILE. 

Arrival  of  Columbus  in  Cordova — Finds  everybody  engrossed  with  the  opening  campaign  against  the  Moors 
— Talevera  listens  coldly  to  him,  and  looks  upon  his  plans  as  extravagant — Doubtful  if  the  friar  per- 
mitted his  application  to  reach  the  ears  of  the  sovereigns — Columbus  becomes  indigent — Is  ridiculed 
even  by  children,  who  scoff  at  him  as  a  dreamer — Becomes  attached  to  Dona  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the 
mother  of  his  second  son  Fernando — The  theory  of  Columbus  begins  to  obtain  proselytes — Alonzo  do 
Quintanilla,  Geraldine,  the  Pope's  nuncio  (ambassador)  Mendoza,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  appreciate  the 
importance  of  his  project  and  at  last  obtain  for  him  the  royal  audience — Propositions  of  Columbus  to 
the  court  of  Castile — Ferdinand  perceives  that  his  scheme  has  scientific  and  practical  foundations — 
Orders  the  moet  learned  astronomers  and  cosmographers  to  hold  a  conference  with  Columbus       .         .     QO 

CHAPTER  VII. 

COLUMBUS    BEFORE   THE    COUNCIL    AT    SALAMANCA. 

The  Council  assembles  in  Salamanca — The  learned  junto  come  prepossessed  against  him — He  is  as- 
sailed with  citations  from  the  Bible — Doctrinal  points  are  mixed  up  with  philosophical  discussions — The 
existence  of  the  antipodes  disputed  on  the  authority  of  St.  Augustinus  and  Lactantius — His  simple 


CONTENTS.  XU 

proposition,  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth,  opposed  by  figurative  texts  of  Scripture — Many  of  the  ob- 
jections, absurd  at  the  present  day,  due  to  the  imperfect  state  of  knowledge  of  the  times — He  boldly 
meets  all  objections — Not  daunted  by  the  scriptural  difficulties  opposed  to  him,  for  here  he  was  pecul- 
iarly at  home — He  pours  forth  magnificent  texts  of  Scripture  and  those  mysterious  predictions  of  their 
Prophets,  which  he  considers  as  types  and  annunciations  of  the  sublime  discovery  which  he  proposes — 
Some  few  of  his  hearers  are  convinced — But  the  preponderating  mass  of  inert  bigotry  and  learned  pride 
refuses  to  yield  to  his  demonstrations — Talevera  leaves  Cordova  with  the  court,  and  puts  an  end  to  the 
consultations — Columbus  follows  the  movements  of  the  court— Is  present  at  the  sieges  and  surrenders  of 
Malaga  and  Baza — His  pious  indignation  aroused  by  the  threat  of  the  Grand  Soldan  addressed  to  the 
Catholic  majesties — -Vows  to  devote  the  profits  which  he  anticipates  from  his  discoveries  to  a  crusade — 
He  presses  Talevera  in  the  winter  of  1491  for  a  decisive  reply — Talevera  informs  Ferdinand  that  the  ma- 
jority of  the  junto  condemns  the  scheme — Ferdinand  holds  out  prospects  after  the  war  is  concluded,  in 
which  he  is  at  present  engaged — Columbus,  disappointed,  leaves  Seville 96 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

COLUMBUS    SEEKS    PATRONAGE    AMONG    THE   SPANISH  GRANDEES — RETURNS   TO  THE   CONVENT   OF 
LA    RABIDA — RESUMES    HIS    NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    THE    SOVEREIGNS.       [1491.] 

Columbus  in  receipt  of  favorable  letters  from  the  kings  of  France,  F.ngland  and  Portugal — Seeks  patronage 
among  the  Spanish  Grandees,  but  is  unsuccessful — He  prepares  to  leave  for  Paris,  but  first  calls  at  La 
Rabida — Father  Marchena  is  surprised  at  his  ill  success,  and  his  patriotism  takes  alarm — The  prior 
writes  a  letter  to  the  queen,  conjuring  her  not  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  a  matter  of  such  vast  importance — 
The  queen  invites  the  friar  to  court — Sends  for  Columbus — He  arrives  in  time  to  witness  the  memorable 
surrender  of  the  last  king  of  Granada — Persons  in  the  confidence  of  the  queen  appointed  to  negotiate 
with  him — His  terms  pronounced  inadmissible,  and  he,  indignant,  determines  to  abandon  Spain  forever — 
Is  recalled  at  the  solicitations  of  Louis  de  St.  Angel,  who  enkindles  the  generous  spirit  of  Isabella — She 
offers  to  pledge  her  jewels  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  enterprise 106 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ARRANGEMENT    WITH    THE    SPANISH     SOVEREIGNS PREPARATION    FOR    THE    EXPEDITION    AT    THE 

PORT    OF    PALOS.       [1492.] 

Articles  of  agreement  are  drawn  up  by  the  royal  secretary — The  port  of  Palos  de  Moguer  fixed  upon  where 
the  expedition  is  to  be  fitted  out — Royal  order  issued  to  that  effect — Isabella  appoints  Diego  Columbus 
page  to  Prince  Juan — Repeated  mandates  necessary  to  press  Spanish  vessels  and  crews  into  service — 
Tumults  and  altercations  take  place — Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  volunteers  to  engage  in  the  expedition — 
Other  difficulties  occur,  but  all  are  at  length  overcome  by  the  beginning  of  August — Description  of  the 
vessels — Columbus,  officers  and  crew  confess  themselves  to  Friar  Juan  Perez,  and  partake  of  the  com- 
munion— With  tears,  lamentations  and  dismal  forebodings,  the  parting  takes  place I  I  6 

CHAPTER  X. 

EVENTS  OF   THE    FIRST    VOYAGE — DISCOVERY    OF    LAND.       [1492.] 

Departure  of  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  guided  by  a  conjectural  map  sent  him  by  Paulo  Toscanelli — On 
the  third  day  after  setting  sail  the  Pinta  breaks  her  rudder — Attempt  to  replace  the  Pinta  by  searching 
for  another  vessel  among  the  Canary  Islands — Compelled  to  furnish  the  Pinta  with  a  new  rudder — 
Dreading  some  hostile  stratagem  from  some  Portuguese  caravals,  Columbus  puts  to  sea — Becalmed  for 
three  days — After  leaving  sight  of  land,  seamen  shed  tears  and  break  out  into  lamentations — Columbus 
reassures  them — Gives  orders  to  the  Nina  and  Pinta  to  continue  due  west — Keeps  two  reckonings,  one 
private,  and  one  public,  so  as  to  keep  the  crews  in  ignorance  of  the  real  distance — First  notice  of  the 
variation  of  the  needle— Continuation  of  the  voyage  within  the  influence  of  the  trade  wind — Entry  into 
the  Saragossa  Sea — Signs  of  approaching  land  begin  to  animate  the  crew,  though  for  but  a  short  time — 
The  crews  become  uneasy,  and  Columbus  with  admirable  patience  reasons  with  them,  but  in  vain — His 
situation  becomes  daily  more  and  more  critical — A  mutiny  breaks  out,  and  some  propose  to  throw  him 
into  the  sea — On  the  25th  of  September  Pinzon,  mistaking  an  evening  cloud  for  the  much  wished  for  land, 


XX  CONTENTS. 

shouts,  "  Senor,  I  claim  the  reward" — The  crews  chant  the  Gloria  in  excelsis — On  the  7th  of  October, 
yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  Pinzon,  Columbus  alters  his  course — The  crew  again  break  out  in  loud 
clamors,  and  insist  upon  abandoning  the  voyage — He  refuses,  and  is  now  at  open  defiance  with  his 
crew — He  maintains  an  intense  and  unremitting  watch  on  the  nth  day  of  October — At  ten  o'clock  he 
thinks  he  beholds  a  light ;  calls  Pedro  Gutierrez  to  his  side,  who  affirms  his  impression — At  two  in  the 
morning  a  gun  from  the  Pinta  gave  the  joyful  signal  of  land t  26 

CHAPTER  XI. 

FIRST    LANDING   OF   COLUMBUS   IN   THE   NEW    WORLD — CRUISE   AMONG    THE   BAHAMA  ISLANDS — 
DISCOVERY  OF    CUBA    AND    HISPANIOLA.       [1492.] 

Landfall  of  Columbus  at  Guanahane — Present  uncertainty  which  of  the  Lucayos  he  named  San  Salvador — 
Takes  possession  of  the  island  in  the  names  of  the  Castilian  sovereigns — Behavior  of  the  crew — The 
natives  of  the  island,  after  recovering  from  their  fears,  approach  the  Spaniards,  each  being  objects  of 
curiosity  to  the  other — They  are  entirely  naked,  simple  and  artless  ;  destitute  of  wealth,  excepting  balls 
of  cotton,  and  parrots — Columbus  interprets  their  imperfect  communications,  when  asked  where  their 
scanty  gold  ornaments  come  from,  according  to  his  previous  ideas  and  cherished  wishes — Concludes  to 
be  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cipango,  and  sets  sail  in  quest  of  that  opulent  country — Sails  amongst  the 
Lucayos,  the  inhabitants  of  which  gave  the  same  proof  as  those  of  San  Salvador,  of  being  totally  un- 
accustomed to  the  sight  of  civilized  man — Columbus,  disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  finding  gold,  con- 
tinues a  southerly  course,  towards  Cuba,  concluding  this  to  be  the  desired  Cipango — Coasts  along  its 
shores  to  the  Cape  of  Palms — Mistaking  the  Cubanacan  of  the  natives  for  Marco  Polo's  Cublay  Khan, 
he  determines  to  send  a  present  to  him — The  ambassadors  penetrate  twelve  leagues  into  the  interior,  and 
come  upon  a  village  of  1000  inhabitants,  but  no  traces  of  the  city  and  court  they  had  anticipated  finding 
— Notice  the  natives  smoking  dried  herbs,  which  they  call  tobacco — Columbus  resolves  not  to  proceed 
further  north,  but  turns  eastward  in  quest  of  Babeque,  which  he  trusts  might  prove  some  rich  and  civil- 
ized land — The  Pinta  parts  company  with  him,  and  Columbus  fears  that  Pinzon  departed  to  make  an 
independent  cruise,  or  to  hasten  back  to  Spain  and  claim  the  merit  of  the  discovery — Descries  the 
magical  charm  of  Haytian  scenery 140 

CHAPTER  XII. 

COASTING    OF    HISPANIOLA — SHIPWRECK,    AND    OTHER    OCCURRENCES    AT    THE    ISLAND.       [1492.], 

Enters  the  harbor  of  St.  Nicholas — Succeeds  in  overtaking  a  young  and  handsome  female  who  flies  before 
them — Releases  her,  loaded  with  presents — She  returns  in  company  of  2000  natives — Frank  hospitality 
of  the  islanders — Visit  of  a  young  cacique  (chief),  who  persists  in  the  idea  that  the  Spaniards  were  more 
than  mortal— Columbus  anchors  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Thomas,  and  is  visited  by  the  messengers  from  the 
grand  cacique  Guacanagari,  who  bring  golden  presents — He  determines  to  visit  him — Shipwreck  of  the 
Santa  Maria — Generous  assistance  from  Guacanagari — The  natives  entertain  the  shipwrecked  crew,  and 
perform  several  of  their  national  games  and  dances — Consternation  of  the  natives  when  hearing  the  dis- 
charge of  a  cannon — Columbus  is  told  of  Cibao  and  its  golden  treasures,  and  fancies  the  name  to  be 
a  corruption  of  Cipango — Manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians — The  mariners  entreat  permission  to 
remain  in  the  island,  and  Columbus  forms  the  idea  to  plant  a  colony — He  builds  a  fort  from  the  wreck 
of  the  caraval,  and  is  aided  by  the  subjects  of  the  cacique — Names  it  La  Navidad,  and  puts  it  in  charge 
of  Diego  de  Arana — Sorrowful  parting  with  Guacanagari  and  the  comrades  who  remain  behind        .         .   I  541 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

RETURN    VOYAGE VIOLENT    STORMS ARRIVAL    AT    PORTUGAL.        [1493.] 

Return  voyage — The  Pinta  is  signaled  standing  towards  them — Pinzon  endeavors  to  excuse  his  actions — Is 
compelled  to  set  his  Indian  prisoners  ashore — Columbus  coasts  along  the  north  shore  of  the  island,  and 
has  a  skirmish  with  the  fierce-looking  natives  under  the  cacique  Mayonabex — Takes  four  Indians  with 
him  to  guide  him  to  the  Caribbean  islands,  and  Mantinino,  said  to  be  inhabited  by  Amazons — A  favor- 
able breeze  springing  up,  changes  his  intention,  and  he  makes  all  sail  for  Spain — A  tempest  bursts  upon 
them  with  frightful  violence,  and  threatens  to  overwhelm  them — The  Pinta  is  separated  from  him  by  the 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

fury  of  the  storm — Columbus  endeavors  to  propitiate  Heaven  by  solemn  vows — Columbus,  alarmed 
lest  the  glory  of  his  achievements  might  perish,  writes  a  brief  account  of  his  discovery  on  parchment, 
seals  it  up  in  a  cake  of  wax,  inclosing  the  whole  in  a  cask,  and  throws  it  into  the  sea — The  storm  sub- 
sides, and  they  behold  land  on  the  15th  of  February — They  land  at  St.  Mary's,  one  of  the  Azores,  and 
meet  with  an  ungenerous  reception — After  a  few  days'  detention  they  again  set  sail,  but  meet  a  renewal 
of  tempestuous  weather — During  the  turbulence  of  the  following  night  they  sight  land,  and  Columbus, 
though  distrustful  of  the  good  will  of  Portugal,  has  no  alternative  but  to  anchor  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Tagus t66 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

VISIT    OF    COLUMBUS    TO    THE    COURT    OF    PORTUGAL- — ARRIVAL    AT    PALOS.       [1493.] 

He  dispatches  the  tidings  of  his  discovery  to  the:  Spanish  Sovereign,  and  asks  permission  of  the  king  of 
Portugal  to  proceed  with  his  vessel  to  Lisbon — The  whole  world  is  filled  with  astonishment ;  every  thing 
he  brings  is  viewed  with  insatiable  curiosity— The  enthusiasm  of  some,  and  avarice  of  others,  are  ex- 
cited— Receives  message  of  congratulations  from  King  John,  and  is  invited  to  court — Welcome  and 
honors 'granted  by  the  king — The  king,  though,  secretly  grieved  that  he  refused  to  undertake  the  enter- 
prise when  presented  to  him — Propositition  by  the  courtiers  to  assassinate  Columbus,  but  the  king  too 
magnanimous  to  adopt  such  counsel — Escorted  back  to  his  ships,  he  visits  the  queen  on  his  way,  and 
sets  sail  for  Palos — His  arrival  in  that  port  a  prodigious  event — Receives  such  homage  as  is  paid  to 
sovereigns  only — The  reply  from  their  Catholic  majesties,  addressed  to  him  by  his  titles  of  "  Admiral 
and  Viceroy,"  invites  him  at  once  to  court — Fate  of  the  Pinta  and  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon — Driven  into 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  doubting  the  survival  of  Columbus,  he  dispatches  messengers  to  the  king,  then 
sails  for  Palos — On  arrival  there,  sees  the  vessel  of  Columbus  safely  riding  at  anchor — An  order  from 
court  forbids  him  to  repair  thither- — Dies  of  a  broken  heart — Character  of  Pinzon 1 73 

CHAPTER  XV. 

RECEPTION    OF    COLUMBUS    BY    THE    SPANISH    SOVEREIGNS    AT    BARCELONA.       [1492.] 

Journey  of  Columbus  to  Barcelona — Towns,  streets,  balconies  filled  with  spectators — As  he  approaches  the 
city  a  vast  concourse  of  people  come  to  meet  him — His  entry  like  the  triumphs  of  the  old  Roman  con- 
suls— His  six  painted  savages,  decorated  with  gold  ornaments,  lead  the  van — Columbus,  surrounded  by 
a  brilliant  cavalcade,  follows,  and  is  led  up  to  the  throne,  erected  for  the  occasion  on  the  outside  of  the 
cathedral — The  sovereigns  rise  on  his  approach,  and  he  gives  an  account  of  the  most  striking  events  of 
the  voyage — When  he  finishes,  the  king  and  queen  sink  on  their  knees,  the  populace  follow  their  exam- 
ple, and  the  anthem  of  Te  Deum  laudamus  (Praise  God,  from  whom  ail  blessings  flow)  is  chanted  by 
the  royal  chapel — Columbus  repeats  his  vow  to  furnish  the  means  for  a  new  crusade  out  of  his  own  purse 
when  in  possession  of  same — He  continues  to  receive  the  highest  marks  of  personal  consideration  from 
the  sovereigns — To  perpetuate  the  glory  of  his  achievements  he  is  ennobled — Belittled  at  a  banquet  by 
a  shallow  courtier,  the  well  known  circumstance  of  the  egg  occurs — Misled  by  the  opinion  of  Columbus, 
the  whole  civilized  world  adopts  it  as  a  fact  that  Cuba  is  the  end  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and  name  the 
islands  visited  by  him  the  "  West  Indies  " 182 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PAPAL    BULL    OF    PARTITION — PREPARATIONS    FOR    A    SECOND    VOYAGE    OF    DISCOVERY.        [l493-] 

Pope  Alexander  VI.  (a  Borgia),  as  vicar  of  Christ  on  earth  and  supreme  authority  over  all  temporal  things, 
is  asked,  and  grants  a  bull  investing  the  Spanish  monarchs  with  all  rights,  privileges  and  indulgences 
over  the  newly  discovered  regions — The  famous  line  of  demarkation  is  established — The  utmost  exer- 
tions are  made  to  fit  out  a  second  expedition,  the  superintendence  of  which  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
future  bishop  of  Burgos — Arbitrary  royal  orders  are  issued  empowering  Columbus  and  Fonseca  to  freight 
and  purchase  ships — The  conversion  of  the  heathen  being  the  professed  object  of  these  discoveries,  twelve 
ecclesiastics,  under  the  guidance  of  Father  Boyle,  a  subtle  and  intriguing  spirit,  are  chosen  to  accompany 
the  expedition — The  Indians  brought  by  the  Admiral  to  Barcelona  are  baptized,  Prince  Juan  officiating 
as  sponsor — A  keen  diplomatic  game  ensues  between  the  rulers  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  wherein  the  par- 
ties were  playing  for  a  newly  discovered  world — A  fleet  of  seventeen  sail  is  soon  got  ready  in  the  harbor 


XX11  CONTENTS. 

of  Cadiz — Many  hidalgos  (noblemen),  officers  of  the  royal  household,  Andalusian  cavaliers,  press  into 
the  expedition,  amongst  whom  is  Don  Alonzo  de  Ojeda — Character  of  this  knight-errant — The  rise  of  an 
implacable  hostility  between  Columbus  and  Fonseca  dates  from  some  trifling  requisitions  made  at  this 
time  by  the  Admiral,  and  refused  by  the  future  bishop Igi 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

DEPARTURE    OF    COLUMBUS,   ON    HIS    SECOND    VOYAGE   OF    DISCOVERY ARRIVAL    AT 

HISPANIOLA.       [1493.] 

The  Bay  of  Cadiz  white  with  the  sails  of  the  expedition,  and  witnesses  its  departure  on  the  25th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1493 — The  Admiral  touches  at  the  Canary  Islands,  and  comes  in  sight  of  one  of  the  Antilles  the 
2nd  of  November — At  one  of  these  islands  the  sight  of  human  limbs  hanging  in  houses,  as  if  curing 
for  provisions,  fills  everybody  with  horror — A  party  of  explorers  failing  to  return  to  the  ships  creates 
uneasiness,  and  though  parties  are  sent  in  quest  of  them,  can  not  be  found — Ojeda,  in  company  of 
40  men,  sets  off  into  the  interior  of  the  island  to  search  for  them — He  gives  the  most  enthusiastic  ac- 
count of  the  country — The  stragglers,  almost  reduced  to  despair,  return — At  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz 
a  serious  encounter  takes  place  with  the  natives,  men  and  women  attacking  a  Spanish  boat  with  des- 
peration— Continuation  of  the  voyage — Arrival  off  Hispaniola — The  Admiral  liberates  five  Indians  he  took 
with  him  to  Spain,  in  the  Gulf  of  Arrows,  but  retains  the  sixth,  who  had  been  baptized  Diego  Colon — 
While  ranging  the  shore  his  sailors  come  across  the  dead  bodies  of  4  Europeans — Gloomy  forebodings 
of  the  fate  of  his  first  settlement I97 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FATE    OF    THE    FORTRESS    OF    LA    NAVIDAD — TRANSACTIONS    AT   THE    HARBOR.       [1493.] 

He  anchors  opposite  La  Navidad  on  the  27th  of  November,  but  his  signal  guns  are  not  answered  by 
friendly  shouts —  Is  visited  at  midnight  by  natives,  who  bring  presents — Melancholy  tidings  greet  his 
ears — The  garrison  is  no  more  !  — A  boat  sent  on  shore  to  reconnoitre  finds  everything  demolished, 
Indians  invisible,  and  an  air  of  desolation  hovering  over  the  place — Columbus  himself  lands,  makes 
diligent  search  for  hidden  treasure,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  Arana's  companions — Finds  Guacanagari's 
village  a  heap  of  ruins — Effects  communication  with  the  natives — Is  informed  of  the  brawls  which  oc- 
curred between  the  Spaniards,  about  ill-gotten  spoils,  or  the  favours  of  the  Indian  women — Caonabo, 
the  Cacique  of  Cibao,  jealous  of  their  sojourn  on  the  island,  assembles  his  subjects,  arrives  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  La  Navidad  without  being  discovered,  and  in  the  dead  of  night,  sets  fire  to  trie  fortress  and 
massacres  everybody — Guacanagari,  though  faithfully  fighting  in  defense  of  his  guests,  is  wounded  and 
his  village  destroyed — The  Indians,  astonished  at  the  sight  of  the  horse,  and  the  captive  Caribs— 
Guacanagari  falls  in  love  with  one  of  the  prisoners,  is  aided  in  a  plan  to  liberate  her  and  companions, 
by  his  brother — Success  of  the  plot 205 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

FOUNDING    OF    THE    CITY   OF    ISABELLA DISCONTENTS    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

Search  for  a  favorable  place  to  plant  a  new  colony — The  harbor  of  Monte  Christi  selected — Disembarka- 
tion of  the  troops,  stores,  arms,  ammunition,  cattle,  and  live  stock — Great  zeal  manifested  by  everybody 
in  laying  out  streets,  erecting  buildings,  storehouses,  churches — The  city  named  "  Isabella,"  in  honor 
of  the  Spanish  queen — The  unusual  exertions  in  a  hot  and  moist  climate  very  trying  on  the  constitu- 
t;ons  of  the  men.  many  of  whom  succumb  to  fevers — Scarcity  of  gold — Maladies  of  the  body  and  mind 
disappoint  many  a  flagging  spirit,  and  a  gloom  of  despondency  settles  over  the  inhabitants — Not  wish- 
ing the  fleet  to  return  without  treasure,  Columbus  plans  an  expedition  to  the  territory  of  Caonabo,  and 
places  Ojeda  in  command — Crosses  the  mountain  range  and  descends  into  a  vast  plain — Gold  in  large 
quantities  is  found  in  the  beds  of  the  rivers — An  expedition  under  the  command  of  Antonio  de  Torres 
also  returns  with  similar  reports — Columbus  retains  five  ships,  sends  the  balance  back  to  Spain  with  san- 
guine accounts  of  the  riches  he  expects  to  forward  in  the  near  future — Suggests  the  enslaving  of  the 
fierce  Carib  cannibals — Unabated  enthusiasm  in  Europe,  while  murmurings  and  seditions  prevail  among 
the  colonists — Bernal  Diaz  de  Pisa  heads  a  conspiracy — Columbus,  duly  warned,  arrests  the  ringlead- 
ers and  confines  them  on  board  of  one  of  the  ships 211 


CONTENTS.  XX1U 

CHAPTER  XX. 

EXPEDITION    OF    COLUMBUS    INTO    THE    INTERIOR    OF    HISPANIOLA.       [1494.] 

To  quiet  the  murmurs  and  rouse  the  spirit  of  his  people,  Columbus  undertakes  an  expedition  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Cibao — Difficult  ascent  of  the  mountains — Hidalgos  aid  in  constructing  a  road — From  the  top 
of  the  mountain  the  glorious  prospect  of  the  Vega  Real  (Royal  Plain)  bursts  upon  their  view — Indians 
bewildered  at  the  sight  of  the  army,  particularly  the  cavalry — They  imagine  rider  and  steed  to  be  one 
animal — At  the  end  of  two  or  three  days  they  reach  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  amidst  which  lay  the 
golden  regions  of  Cibao — The  regions  are  rocky  and  sterile,  scantily  clothed  with  pines — Columbus 
chooses  a  suitable  situation  and  builds  a  fort,  which  he  names  St.  Thomas — Juan  de  LUxan  explores 
the  province  and  brings  very  favorable  accounts  —  Bartering  with  the  natives,  who  bring  virgin 
gold .2l8 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

CUSTOMS    AND    CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   NATIVES. 

Columbus  leaves  Pedro  Margarite  in  charge  of  Fort  St.  Thomas — Establishes  routes  between  it  and  Isabella 
across  the  Vega — Character  of  the  natives  not  as  docile  as  he  imagined — Acquainted  with  the  use  of 
arms,  yet  generally  speaking  mild  and  gentle' — Believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  who  dwells  in  the  skies, 
immortal,  omnipotent,  and  invisible,  having  had  a  mother,  but  no  father — Address  their  worship  to  in- 
ferior deities  called  zemes — Curious  notions  entertained  about  them — Indians  well  acquainted  with  the 
medicinal  properties  of  trees  and  vegetables — Their  butios  (priests)  act  as  physicians,  exorcising  mala- 
dies— Hold  festivals  in  honor  of  their  zemi  once  a  year,  at  which  the  young  females,  entirely  naked, 
dance  to  the  beating  of  a  drum — Curious  legends  of  the  creation  and  the  flood — Their  funeral  ceremo- 
nies— Confused  notions  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul — Greatly  addicted  to  dancing  and  singing  of 
ballads,  called  areytos — They  appear  to  the  Spaniards  an  idle  and  improvident  race,  but  very  hospi- 
table  222 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

SICKNESS    AND   DISCONTENT    AT   THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    ISABELLA PREPARATIONS    OF    COLUMBUS 

FOR    A    VOYAGE   TO    CUBA. 

Columbus  receives  news,  upon  his  return  to  Isabella,  that  Caonabo  has  broken  up  all  intercourse  with  Fort 
St.  Thomas  and  is  preparing  to  assault  it — Sends  reinforcements — Intermittent  fevers  and  other  violent 
maladies  rage  in  Isabella — Scarcity  of  European  provisions  compels  him  to  put  the  people  upon  an  al- 
lowance, which  irritates  Father  Boyle,  he  not  being  excepted — Columbus  uses  compulsory  measures, 
which  cause  deep  and  lasting  hostilities  to  spring  up  against  him — He  determines  to  send  and  quarter 
all  the  men  he  can  spare  among  the  Indians  of  the  Vega,  and  prepares  for  a  voyage  of  discovery  to 
explore  the  coast  of  Cuba — Ojeda  is  placed  in  charge  of  Ft.  Thomas — Margarite  makes  a  military  tour 
of  inspection — -Ojeda  severely  punishes  some  Indians  who  were  guilty  of  robbing  three  Spaniards  of 
their  effects .  229 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CRUISE    OF    COLUMBUS    ALONG    THE    SOUTHERN   COAST   OF   CUBA.       [1494.] 

Under  the  impression  that  Cuba  was  the  extreme  end  of  Asia,  he  trusts  to  arrive  at  Mangi  and  Cathay  by 
following  its  shore — Hospitable  reception  by  the  natives,  who  come  in  canoes  alongside  of  his  ships, 
offering  various  refreshments — Inquiry  for  gold,  elicits  the  uniform  answer  "  Further  South  " — He  at 
last  abandons  his  course,  and  steers  for  Jamaica — Natives  more  ingenious  as  well  as  more  warlike  than 
those  of  Cuba  and  Hayti — Immense  size  of  their  canoes  formed  of  the  hollow  trunks  of  single  mahog- 
any trees — Disappointed  in  his  search  for  gold,  is  about  to  return  to  Cuba — Cruises  through  the  labyrinth 
of  small  islands  and  keys  near  the  southern  shore  of  Cuba,  often  compelling  him  to  warp  his  vessels 
through  narrow  and  shallow  passages — He  learns  of  the  existence  of  a  powerful  king,  whose  people  are 
clothed,  and  who  lived  amongst  the  mountains  in  the  west,  and  concludes  it  must  be  Marco  Polo's 
Mangi — This   fancied  king  probably   conjured   up   in  his   mind   by   what  he  had  read   about  Prester 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

John — His  crew  partakes  of  the  same  illusions,  and  fancy  they  have  already  arrived  within  his  domin- 
ions— Fruitless  expeditions  sent  into  the  interior.         .         ..  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         ■  2  3  2. 

CHAPTER   XXIV.. 

RETURN    VOYAGE.        [1494.] 

The  Admiral  is  persuaded  to  abandon  further  search  for  the  Aura  Chersonesus,  by  the  crazy  condition  of 
his  ships — Before  turning  back,  gets  the  signatures  of  his  officers  and  crew  to  a  document  which  declares 
Cuba  to  be  the  extreme  end  of  India — While  attending  mass  at  the  mouth  of  a  fine  river,  is  addressed 
by  an  old  Indian  cacique,  who  admonishes  him  to  lead  a  blameless  life,  never  to  harm  those  who  have 
done  no  harm  to  him,  and  as  the  soul  is  our  immortal  self,  to  merit  heaven  for  it,  preserving  it  from  the 
torments  of  hell — The  cacique  hears  about  the  grandeur  of  the  Spanish  monarchs,  is  seized  with  a  desire 
to  accompany  Columbus,  and  is  only  with  difficulty  dissuaded  from  it — He  sails  for  Jamaica  and  circum- 
navigates the  island — He  sails  over  to  Hispaniola,  is  separated  from  his  other  vessels  by  a  storm  and 
suffers  greatly  in  mind  and  body — He  maintains  his  painful  vigil  until  he  sinks  into  a  deep  lethargy, 
exhausted  by  almost  superhuman  exertions — Arrival  at  Isabella 2  3Q 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

EVENTS    IN    THE    ISLAND    OF    HISPANIOLA INSURRECTION    OF   THE    NATIVES EXPEDITION    OF 

OJEDA    AGAINST    CAONABO.        [1494.] 

A  joyful  surprise  awaits  Columbus  on  his  arrival — His  brother  Bartholomew,  whom  he  had  commissioned 
to  go  to  England  in  1491,  is  at  his  bedside — Is  supposed  to  have  doubled  the  cape  with  Diaz  before 
reaching  England — Captured  by  corsairs — At  last  reaches  England,  and  his  propositions  favorably  en- 
tertained by  Henry  VII — Hears  of  the  discoveries  of  his  brother  in  Paris — Reaches  Spain,  and  is  given 
command  of  three  ships  freighted  with  supplies  for  Columbus — Character  of  Don  Bartholomew  — 
Columbus  invests  him  with  the  title  of  Adelantado — During  the  absence  of  Columbus  Margarite  commits 
outrages  among  the  Indians — Is  reprimanded  by  Diego  Columbus — Defies  his  authority  and  finds  a 
powerful  ally  in  the  Apostolic  Vicar,  Father  Boyle — They  take  possession  of  certain  ships,  and  embark 
for  Spain — The  army,  now  left  without  a  head,  commit  many  outrages  upon  the  indulgent  natives,  till 
they  rouse  their  spirit  of  resentment — Spaniards  butchered  wherever  surprised — Caonabo  the  most  for- 
midable enemy — Singular  trait  of  character  of  Ojeda — Considers  himself  under  the  special  protection  of 
the  Virgin  ;  carries  a  small  Dutch  painting  of  her  continually  with  him — He  swears  by  the  Virgin,  he 
invokes  her  in  battle  or  in  brawl,  and  is  ready  for  any  enterprise  under  her  protection — Caonabo  invests 
the  fortress  of  Ft.  Thomas,  but  at  length  relinquishes  the  attempt  to  storm  it — Description  of  the  prov- 
inces into  which  Hayti  is  divided — The  caciques  of  the  provinces  enter  into  a  league  with  Caonabo, 
excepting  Guacanagari  —  The  latter  reveals  the  plan  the  Indians  have  concocted  to  Columbus,  who 
succeeds  in  baffling  all  their  machinations — Ojeda  commissioned  to  take  the  Carib  chief  captive — He 
invokes  the  protection  of  the  Virgin,  and  by  a  most  daring  piece  of  strategy  brings  him  to  Isabella — 
Admiration  of  Caonabo  for  the  valor  of  Ojeda.         ...........    246 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BATTLE    OF    THE    VEGA IMPOSITION    OF    TRIBUTE.        [1494.] 

The  arrival  of  a  physician,  apothecary,  and  a  supply  of  provisions  creates  joy  in  the  settlement — Colum- 
bus hears  that  the  dispute  with  Portugal  has  been  amicably  settled — Sends  Don  Diego  to  Spain  to 
counteract  the  misrepresentations  of  the  subtle  friar  and  Margarite — Remits  a  large  quantity  of  gold, 
and  Indians  destined  for  the  Spanish  slave  market — Is  informed  that  the  hostile  caciques  have  assem- 
bled all  their  forces  in  the  Vega  —  With  200  infantry,  20  horse,  and  20  bloodhounds  he  attacks  the 
Indian  forces,  and  completely  routs  them — Columbus  imposes  a  tribute  on  the  vanquished  provinces — 
Erects  fortresses  in  the  most  important  places  —  The  pleasant  life  of  the  natives  is  at  an  end — The 
perpetual  task  imposed  on  them  introduces  sorrow,  slavery,  and  weary  labor — They  resort  to  a  forlorn 
and  desperate  alternative  and  endeavor  to  produce  a  famine  — Are  hunted  down  by  the  Spaniards, 
driven  into  their  dreary  mountain  fastness  and  perish  in  dens  and  caverns  by  the  thousand — Gua- 
canagari, unable  to  bear  the  murmurs  of  his  subjects,  the  sight  of  the  various  miseries  which  he  felt  he 


CONTENTS.  xxv 

Tiad  invoked  upon  his  race  by  remaining  the  ally  of  the  Spaniards,  retires  to  the  mountains,  and  dies  in 
obscurity  and  misery 259 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

ARRIVAL   OF    COMMISSIONER    AGUADO — DISCOVERY    OF    THE    GOLD    MINES   OF    HAYNA.        [l495-] 

The  cabal  of  the  politic  friar  Boyle,  supported  by  many  factions,  and  discontented  idlers  who  had  returned 
from  the  colony,  have  a  baneful  effect  upon  the  popularity  of  Columbus  in  Spain — Determination  to 
send  a  commissioner  to  inquire  into  the  alleged  distresses  of  the  colony — Juan  Aguado  appointed — 
Pious  theologians  ordered  to  consult  together  and  determine  whether  Indians,  having  been  taken  cap- 
tive in  warfare,  can  be  sold  as  slaves,  and  if  justifiable  in  the  sight  of  God — Aguado  and  Diego  Columbus 
arrive  in  Hispaniola — The  former  has  his  letter  of  credence  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet,  ignoring 
Don  Bartholomew,  who  is  in  temporary  command — Listens  to  grievances  and  complaints  with  ready 
credulity — Columbus  hastens  to  Isabella  and  receives  Aguado  with  grave  and  punctilious  courtesy — His 
moderation  is  regarded  by  everybody  as  proof  of  his  loss  of  moral  courage — Aguado  prepares  to  return 
to  Spain,  and  Columbus  resolves  to  do  the  same — A  hurricane  delays  the  departure  of  the  shattered  ves- 
sels— Miguel  Diaz,  having  fled  from  the  settlement,  wanders  about,  and  at  length  comes  to  an  Indian 
village  on  the  river  Ozemo — The  female  cacique  conceives  a  strong  affection  for  him — To  detain  him 
she  informs  him  of  certain  rich  mines  in  the  neighborhood — He  hastens  to  the  settlement,  and  the  Adel- 
antado  is  conducted  by  Diaz  to  the  banks  of  the  Hayna — Columbus  imagines  he  has  found  the  ancient 
Ophir,  from  whence  King  Solomon  had  procured  his  great  supplies. 265 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

RETURN    OF  COLUMBUS    TO    SPAIN — PREPARATIONS    FOR    A    THIRD    VOYAGE.       [1496.] 

Return  of  Columbus  to  Spain  with  Aguado,  and  a  host  of  malcontents — Lands  at  the  island  of  Guadaloupe, 
and  has  a  skirmish  with  the  fierce  native  Amazons — Captures  many,  amongst  them  the  wife  of  their 
cacique — Dismisses  his  prisoners,  but  the  female  cacique  having  conceived  a  passion  for  the  naked  and 
dejected  Caonabo,  who  is  being  taken  to  Spain,  refuses  to  leave  him — The  haughty  nature  of  the  latter 
succumbs  to  the  morbid  melancholy  of  a  proud  and  broken  spirit — He  expires  during  the  voyage, 
bewailed  only  by  one  of  his  own  wild  native  heroines — Adverse  winds  prolong  the  homeward  passage, 
provisions  become  exhausted,  and  famine  ensues — Proposition  to  devour  the  Indian  captives  prevented 
by  the  absolute  authority  of  Columbus — -Arrival  in  Cadiz — Clad  in  the  habit  of  a  Franciscan  monk,  he 
makes  his  way  to  Burgos — His  reception  by  the  sovereigns — He  proposes  a  third  voyage ;  their  Majesties 
readily  promise  to  comply — Disappointments  and  delays  ensue — Columbus  is  allowed  to  establish  a  mayo- 
razgo  (entailed  estate),  and  immediately  avails  himself  of  it — Decrees  that  his  successors  should  use  no 
other  title  than  simply  "  The  Admiral" — Various  measures  adopted  for  the  good  of  the  colony — Decline 
of  the  popularity  of  Columbus  in  Spain — Criminals  condemned  to  the  galleys,  pressed  into  the  expedition 
to  supply  the  want  of  voluntary  recruits — Not  until  the  spring  of  1498  are  the  ships  fitted  out  for  the  expe- 
dition ready  to  sail — Harassed  by  the  insolence  of  worthless  men  up  to  the  time  of  his  embarkation — For- 
getting his  usual  self-command,  he  strikes  a  despicable  minion  of  Fonseca's  to  the  ground  at  the  moment 
of  embarkation      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .        .         .         .         .         .         .271 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

DISCOVERY   OF   TRINIDAD   AND   THE   COAST    OF    PARIA — ARRIVAL   AT   SAN   DOMINGO.       [1498.] 

From  various  considerations  he  is  induced  to  take  a  more  southerly  route — Expects  to  fall  in  with  black  races — 
Touches  at  Madeira  ;  dispatches  three  ships  of  his  squadron  from  thence  direct  to  Hispaniola;  with  the 
balance  he  prosecutes  his  voyage  towards  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands — As  he  advances  within  the  tropics 
the  air  becomes  like  furnace  heat,  the  salt  meat  becomes  putrid,  and  the  mariners  lose  all  strength  and 
spirit — He  alters  his  course  to  the  north-west,  and  on  the  3d  of  July,  when  there  was  not  above  a  cask  of 
water  remaining  on  each  ship,  he  descries  the  Island  of  Trinidad — Coasts  along  its  southern  shore,  and 
explores  the  Gulf  of  Paria — Nearly  swept  from  his  anchors  by  a  sudden  rush  and  swell  of  the  sea — Aston- 
ished at  the  vast  body  of  fresh  water  flowing  into  the  gulf,  the  difference  of  climate,  vegetation,  and  peo- 
ple— Makes  one  of  his  simple  and  great  conclusions  :  "  Such  a  mighty  stream  of  fresh  water  must  be  the 
outpouring  of  a  continent" — Attributes  the  wildness  of  climate  to  an  ingenious,  though  fallacious  hvpoth- 
(2) 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

esis — The  scarcity  of  sea  stores  compels  him  to  abandon  the  following  up  of  his  discovery,  though  allured 
thereto  by  the  great  quantity  of  pearls,  which  the  natives  exchange  for  European  baubles — Proceeds  to 
Hispaniola  through  the  Boca  del  Drago  (mouth  of  the  dragon) — Reconnoiters  the  coast  as  far  as  the  isl- 
ands of  Cubaga  and  Margarita,  and  is  convinced  of  its  being  a  continent — Haggard,  emaciated,  and 
almost  blind,  he  is  received  with  open  arms  by  the  Adelantado  upon  his  landing  in  the  river  Ozema, 
where  he  ordered  a  new  settlement  to  be  formed  .         .  ........ 


279 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ADMINISTRATION    OF    THE    ADELANTADO.        [1496.] 

A  new  scene  of  trouble  and  anxiety  opens  upon  him — The  Adelantado  during  his  absence  sets  out  to  visit  the 
dominion  of  Behechio  to  reduce  it  to  obedience — The  inhabitants  of  his  province  finely  formed,  and  of 
noble  air — Anacaona,  wife  of  the  late  formidable  Caonabo,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  females  in  the  isl- 
and, of  great  natural  grace  and  dignity,  his  sister — She  meets  Don  Bartholomew,  surrounded  by  thirty 
young  females,  beautifully  formed,  waving  palm  branches  and  singing  their  areytos  (ballads) — He 
arranges  for  a  periodical  tribute  of  cotton,  hemp,  and  cassava  bread,  and  sets  out  for  Isabella — Finds 
the  settlement  in  a  sickly  state — Insurrection  breaks  out  in  the  Vega — Combination  formed  to  massacre 
the  Spaniards  and  destroy  Fort  Conception— The  garrison  sends  for  succor  to  San  Domingo — The  Ade- 
lantado promptly  takes  such  measures  as  to  insure  the  tranquillity  of  the  Vega — Marches  to  Xaragua  to 
receive  tribute ;  his  companions  regard  the  fertility  of  the  country,  the  kindness  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  women  a  perfect  paradise — The  quantity  of  cotton  accumulated  compels  him  to  send 
for  a  caravel  to  freight  it  with — Anacaona's  astonishment  at  the  sight  of  same — Conspiracy  of  Roldan — 
His  seditious  insinuations — Don  Diego,  to  divert  Roldan  from  his  schemes,  gives  him  distant  and  active 
employment — Roldan  gathers  seventy  well  armed  and  resolute  men  around  him,  and  makes  friends 
among  the  discontented  caciques — Openly  sets  the  Adelantado  and  his  brother  at  defiance — Attempts  to 
surprise  the  wary  commander  of  Fort  Conception — The  Adelantado  comes  to  his  assistance,  and  parleys 
with  Roldan — The  Indians  cease  to  send  their  tribute — Arrival  of  succor  from  Spain  under  Pedro  Her- 
nandez Coronal — The  latter  sent  by  the  Adelantado  to  offer  Roldan  and  his  band  amnesty — Is  prevented 
from  having  communication  with  the  rebels — Roldan  proclaimed  a  traitor — Marches  away  to  Xaragua — 
Fresh  insurrections  in  the  Vega  under  Guarionex — The  cacique  flies  to  the  mountains  of  Ciguay — Is 
hunted  down  by  the  Adelantado — Mayonabex  defies  his  power — Driven  to  dens  and  caves  in  the  mount- 
ains, is  at  length  discovered  and  captured — Don  Bartholomew's  magnanimity 285 

CHAPTER   XXXE 

REBELLION    OF    ROLDAN.        [1498.] 

Columbus  issues  a  proclamation — Approves  of  all  the  Adelantado  did,  and  denounces  Roldan — Alonzo  San- 
chez de  Carvajal,  with  the  three  caravels  detached  by  Columbus  from  the  Canary  Islands,  carried  far 
west  of  his  reckonings,  lands  at  Xaragua — Roldan  recruits  many  followers  from  the  deserters  of  the  pro- 
vision ships — Carvajal,  giving  his  vessel  in  charge  of  his  officers,  lands  and  remains  with  the  rebels,  hop- 
ing to  persuade  them  to  return  to  their  allegiance — Roldan  promises  immediate  submission  upon  the 
arrival  of  Columbus,  gives  Carvajal  a  letter  to  the  Admiral,  and  escorts  him  within  six  leagues  of  San 
Domingo — Columbus  warns  Miguel  Ballester,  commander  of  Fort  Conception,  to  be  on  his  guard  against 
attacks  from  the  rebels — Empowers  him  to  treat  with  the  rebels — Offers  free  passage  to  all  who  desire  to 
return  to  Spain — Ballester's  proffered  pardon  to  the  rebels  is  treated  with  contempt — They  refuse  to  treat 
with  any  other  mediator  but  Carvajal — Columbus,  indignant  at  the  insolence  of  their  reply,  musters  a  small 
and  unreliable  army — Letter  to  the  sovereigns — Acquaints  them  with  his  discovery  of  the  Pearl  coast, 
and  the  rebellion  of  Roldan — Roldan  and  his  friends  likewise  send  letters  to  Spain — Resumes  negotia- 
tions with  Roldan — Has  an  interview  with  him — Urged  by  Ballester,  and  compelled  by  circumstances, 
makes  an  arrangement  with  the  rebels,  agreeing  that  Roldan  and  his  followers  should  embark  for  Spain — 
Unavoidable  delays  in  fitting  out  the  ships — When  ready  to  start,  Roldan  refuses  to  embark — Bishop 
Fonseca  thwarts  investigation  asked  for  by  Columbus — Roldan  conducts  himself  as  a  conqueror,  exacting 
terms — Columbus  signs  a  humiliating  capitulation,  and  reinstates  Roldan  as  alcalde  mayor  (justice  of  the 
peace) — Sends  a  request  to  Spain  that  a  learned  man  be  sent  out  as  judge  ......  299 


CONTENTS.  xxvn 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

VISIT    OF   OJEDA   TO   THE   WEST    END    OF    THE    ISLAND — CONSPIRACY    OF    MONICA.       [1499.] 

Columbus  hears  of  the  clandestine  landing  of  Ojeda,  in  whose  squadron  sails  Amerigo  Vespucci,  on  the 
western  part  of  the  island,  and  sends  Roldan  to  intercept  him — Brief  account  of  Ojeda's  voyage  of  dis- 
cover)'— Manoeuvres  of  Ojeda  and  Roldan — Ex-rebels  make  clamorous  complaints  to  Ojeda,  and  he 
proposes  to  put  himself  at  their  head  and  march  to  San  Domingo — Factions  arise,  and  brawls  ensue,  in 
which  several  are  killed  and  many  wounded — Roldan  appears  on  the  scene,  and  Ojeda  retires  with  his 
ships — Hernando  de  Guevara,  banished  for  licentious  conduct  from  San  Domingo,  is  favorably  received 
in  the  house  of  the  female  cacique  Anacaona — She  favors  his  attachment  to  her  beautiful  daughter  Higue- 
namota — It  awakens  the  jealousy  of  Roldan,  who  tries  to  separate  the  lovers — Banishes  Guevara— He 
clandestinely  returns,  and  is  discovered  by  Roldan — Meditates  revenge — Attempt  to  kill  Roldan — The 
plot  is  discovered,  he  and  accomplices  captured,  and  sent  in  chains  to  San  Domingo — Moxica,  cousin  of 
Guevara,  hears  of  his  ill  treatment,  enlists  the  sympathies  of  Pedro  Reguelme,  and  they  conspire  to  kill 
the  alcalde  mayor  and  the  Admiral — Columbus  having  been  informed  of  the  plot,  suddenly  comes  upon 
the  conspirators  with  a  few  esquires,  seizes  Moxica,  and  orders  him  hanged — Execution  of  Moxica — 
Columbus  now  tranquilly  looks  forward  to  the  prosecution  of  his  grand  enterprise,  the  exploration  of  the 
Gulf  of  Paria,  and  the  establishing  of  pearl  fisheries  on  its  coasts 307 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

INTRIGUES     AGA'lNST    COLUMBUS    IN    THE    SPANISH    COURT — APPOINTMENT    OF    BOBADILLA    AS 
COMMISSIONER — HIS    ARRIVAL    AT    SAN    DOMINGO.       [1500.] 

Representations  at  court  by  the  enemies  of  Columbus  undermine  his  reputation — A  gang  of  disorderly  ruf- 
fians who  had  been  returned  to  Spain,  create  a  scene  in  the  Alhambra — The  candid  mind  of  Isabella 
begins  to  entertain  doubts  respecting  the  conduct  of  Columbus,  but  the  jealous  Ferdinand  is  convinced — 
Resolve  to  send  some  person  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  colony — The  arrival  of  the  late  followers 
of  Roldan  brings  on  the  crisis — Amongst  them  are  many  slaves,  several  of  whom  were  daughters  of 
caciques  seduced  from  their  homes  by  these  profligates — Some  with  children  at  their  breasts — The  sensi- 
bility of  Isabella  as  a  woman,  and  her  dignity  as  queen,  are  aroused — "What  right  has  the  Admiral  to 
give  away  my  vassals?" — She  orders  their  immediate  return — Character  of  Bobadilla — His  arrival  in  San 
Domingo — Many  who  sought  to  secure  his  favor  hasten  on  board — Makes  proclamation  of  his  letters 
patent — The  culpability  of  the  Admiral  decided  on  beforehand — Don  Diego  refuses  to  obey  his  demands — 
Bobadilla  causes  another  proclamation  to  be  read  appointing  him  governor — His  demands  for  the  pris- 
oners Guevara  and  Reguelme  again  being  refused,  he  assembles  a  mob,  breaks  open  the  door  of  the 
prison,  and  carries  them  off— Takes  up  his  residence  in  the  house  of  Columbus,  seizes  upon  his  papers 
and  private  effects 318 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

COLUMBUS    ARRESTED    AND    SENT   TO    SPAIN.       [15OO.] 

Columbus  receives  tidings  of  Bobadilla's  high-handed  proceedings — Imagines  them  to  be  the  mere  assump- 
tions of  an  adventurer — Sends  him  conciliator.'  letters — Is  undeceived  by  the  royal  letters  of  credence, 
and  summons  to  appear  before  Bobadilla — Makes  no  further  hesitation  to  obey,  and  departs  alone,  almost 
unattended,  to  San  Domingo — Bobadilla  arrests  and  confines  Don  Diego  on  board  of  a  caravel,  and  upon 
the  arrival  of  the  Admiral  orders  him  put  in  irons  and  confined  in  the  fortress — This  outrage  seems  to 
shock  even  his  enemies — His  own  ungrateful  servant  volunteers  to  put  on  the  fetters — Reflections  of 
Columbus — Writes  a  letter  to  the  Adelantado  advising  him  to  submit — Upon  the  latter's  arrival  he  is  also 
put  in  irons,  confined  and  separated  from  his  brothers — All  three  kept  in  total  ignorance  of  the  crimes 
with  which  they  are  charged — Accusations  against  Columbus  furnished  by  the  late  rebels — Guevara  and 
Reguelme  acquitted  and  discharged  without  trial — Bobadilla  makes  preparations  to  send  his  prisoners  to 
Spain — Alonzo  de  Villejo  commissioned  to  deliver  them,  upon  arrival  at  Cadiz,  to  the  Bishop  Fonseca — ■ 
Pathetic  incident  at  the  time  of  removal  from  prison — Amidst  the  scoffs  and  shouts  of  the  rabble  he  is 
led  aboard  the  caravel,  shackled  like  the  vilest  criminal — The  worthy  Villejo,  as  well  as  Andreas  Martin, 
deeply  grieved  at  the  sight  of  the  Admiral  in  chains,  beg  him  to  permit  them  to  remove  them — "  No,"  he 


XXV111  CONTENTS. 

says  proudly,  "  I  will  wear  them  until  their  Majesties  shall  order  them  to  be  taken  off;  all  Spain  shall  see 
the  indignity  heaped  upon  me  " 325 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

ARRIVAL    OF    COLUMBUS  IN    SPAIN HIS    INTERVIEW    WITH    THE    SOVEREIGNS APPOINTMENT    OF 

OVANDO    TO    THE    GOVERNMENT  OF    HISPANIOLA.       [1500.] 

His  arrival  in  Cadiz  loaded  with  chains  produces  an  enormous  sensation — He  sends  a  letter  to  the  nurse  of 
Prince  Juan  containing  an  ample  vindication  of  his  conduct — The  noble-minded  Isabella  sees  how  grossly 
he  has  been  wronged,  and  though  Ferdinand  secretly  feels  disposed  against  him,  public  sentiment  com- 
pels them  to  order  his  liberation — Is  requested,  and  means  furnished  him,  to  appear  at  court — The  queen, 
upon  beholding  the  venerable  man,  is  moved  to  tears — Agitation  of  Columbus — He  throws  himself  upon 
his  knees  before  their  Majesties,  but  they  raise  him  from  the  ground — They  express  their  indignation  at 
the  proceedings  of  Bobadilla,  and  promise  to  reinstate  Columbus  in  all  his  dignities — But  in  this  he  is 
doomed ;  the  selfish  Ferdinand,  no  longer  dependent  upon  his  genius,  determines  in  his  heart  not  to 
restore  them  to  him — Shallow  excuses  offered  for  the  delay — Bobadilla  superseded  by  Don  Nicholas  de 
Ovando — His  character — News  of  the  disastrous  state  of  the  island  under  Bobadilla  brought  by  every 
new  arrival — Disorder  and  licentiousness  reign  supreme — Cruelties  and  barbarities  perpetrated  upon  the 
natives — Instructions  to  Ovando — First  trace  of  negro  slavery  in  the  New  World — Departure  of  the  fleet 
with  2500  colonists  aboard 332 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

PROPOSITION    OF    COLUMBUS    FOR    A    CRUSADE — HIS    PREPARATIONS    FOR    A    FOURTH    VOYAGE. 

[I500—I50I.] 

Columbus  recalls  his  vow  to  liberate  the  Holy  Land  from  the  rule  of  the  Mahometans — Attempts  to  incite 
the  sovereigns  to  the  enterprise — Prepares,  with  the  assistance  of  a  Carthusian  monk,  a  long  letter  ad- 
dressed to  them — The  composition  lays  open  the  singular  visionary  and  mystic  part  of  his  character — 
Uncertainty  whether  it  was  ever  delivered — The  discovery  Of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  Vasco  de 
Gama,  and  the  arrival  of  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral  with  the  precious  merchandise  of  the  East,  rouse  Co- 
lumbus to  emulation — He  unfolds  his  plans  to  the  sovereigns,  and  is  empowered  to  fit  out  a  new  expe- 
dition— The  artifices  of  the  wily  bishop  cause  a  great  many  delays — Before  embarking  he  takes  precau- 
tionary measures,  by  causing  copies  to  be  made  and  authenticated  of  all  the  royal  letters  of  patent — Sees 
them  safely  deposited — Informs  Pope  Alexander  VI.  of  his  inability  to  comply  with  his  vow,  but  prom- 
ises to  do  so  upon  his  return 341 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

COLUMBUS    SAILS    ON    HIS    FOURTH    VOYAGE — EVENTS    AT    THE    ISLAND    OF     HISPANIOLA HIS 

SEARCH    AFTER  AN    IMAGINARY    STRAIT.        [1502.] 

Accompanied  by  his  brother  Don  Bartholomew,  and  his  son  Diego,  he  sails  from  Cadiz  on  the  9th  of  May, 
1502,  in  four  caravels — Arrives  at  Mantinino,  one  of  the  Antilles,  on  the  15th  of  June- — Though  forbidden 
to  touch  at  Hispaniola,  the  condition  of  one  of  the  caravels  compelled  him  to  repair  thither — He  arrives 
at  a  very  unpropitious  moment — Bobadilla,  Roldan,  and  many  of  his  late  adversaries  ready  to  put  to  sea 
with  their  ill-gotten  gains — Columbus  requests  permission  to  shelter  his  squadron  in  the  river  from  an 
approaching  storm — The  request  refused — He  generously  warns  and  entreats  them  not  to  permit  the 
fleet  to  put  to  sea — His  warning  ridiculed — Himself  seeks  shelter  in  some  wild  bay — The  fleet  overtaken 
by  the  fury  of  a  tropical  hurricane,  is  mostly  destroyed — Bobadilla  and  Roldan  find  a  watery  grave — 
Superstitions  of  the  seamen — Stands  for  the  continent  but  is  swept  by  the  currents  to  the  coast  of  Cuba — 
A  more  propitious  wind  enables  him  to  make  the  island  of  Guanaga,  near  the  coast  of  Honduras — A 
large  canoe  visits  him — He  notices  a  superior  degree  of  art  and  civilization  among  the  natives,  over 
those  hitherto  met — Though  informed  of  an  opulent  kingdom  lying  to  the  west,  his  mind  is  bent  on  dis- 
covering the  strait  that  was  to  lead  him  to  the  Indian  ocean — Incessantly  beset  by  adverse  winds  along 
the  Mosquito  coast — After  40  days  of  hard  struggling  doubles  the  cape  of  Gracias  a  Dios,  and  meets 
with  fair  weather — Natives,  to  counteract  some  magic  spells,  which  they  imagine  are  being  worked 
against  them,  likewise  produce  their  sorcerers — Arrives  at  Costa  Rica  and  Veragua,  where  he  is  assured 


CONTENTS.  XXIX 

to  find  rich  gold  mines — Often  hears  of  the  great  kingdom  in  the  West,  is  told  about  the  civilization  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  understands  that  the  sea  continues  around  to  it ;  ten  days  from  whence  flows  the 
Ganges — Though  these  rumors  evidently  described  Mexico,  he  concludes  that  he  is  already  in  a  prov- 
ince of  the  Grand  Khan — He  presses  forward,  contending  with  adverse  winds  and  hostile  natives — He 
at  length  arrives  at  a  small  narrow  harbor,  which  he  names  El  Retrete,  where  he  is  persuaded  by  the 
seamen,  who  imagine  themselves  under  the  evil  spells  worked  against  them  by  the  Indians,  and  the 
unseaworthiness  of  his  ships,  to  return  to  the  coast  of  Veragua — Abandons  the  search  after  the  strait.         345 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

RETURN    TO   THE  COAST    OF    VERAGUA CONTESTS  WITH    THE  NATIVES.       [1502.] 

Raging  tempests,  the  heavens  glowing  like  a  furnace  with  incessant  flashes  of  lightning,  baffle  all  seaman- 
ship— Waterspouts  approach  the  ships,  spinning  along  the  surface  towards  the  tempest-tossed  mariners, 
threatening  dire  destruction  to  everybody — For  three  weeks  driven  to  and  fro  by  changeable  winds,  he 
attempts  to  make  a  distance  of  30  leagues,  when  to  his  great  joy,  he  arrives  on  the  6th  of  January 
on  the  coast  of  Veragua — The  fierce  and  warlike  natives,  soon  conciliated,  give  direction  where  the  gold 
mines  are  situated — The  Adelantado  explores  the  country,  penetrates  through  thick  forests  of  magnifi- 
cent trees  over  a  gold  impregnated  soil — Another  expedition  by  the  Adelantado  equally  satisfactory, 
and  Columbus  fancies  he  has  at  last  arrived  at  the  Aurea  Chersonesus,  from  whence  the  gold  was 
brought  for  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Solomon — Decides  to  found  a.  colony  under  charge  of  his 
brother,  while  he  returns  to  Spain  for  supplies  and  reinforcements — They  build  houses  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Belen,  and  receive  ammunition,  artillery,  stores,  and  one  of  the  caravels — The  Admiral 
prepares  for  departure,  but  is  unable  to  cross  the  sand-bar — The  cacique  Quibian,  secretly  indignant  at 
the  intrusion  of  the  strangers  into  his  dominions,  orders  all  his  fighting  men  to  assemble — -Diego  Men- 
dez undertakes  a  service  of  life  and  death — He  penetrates  to  the  house  of  the  cacique  surrounded  by 
stakes  ornamented  with  300  skulls — Is  repulsed  from  entering,  returns,  satisfied  that  an  attack  is  about 
to  be  made — The  Adelantado  conceives  a  counterplot — Violent  struggle  between  Don  Bartholomew  and 
Quibian — Battle  with  the  Indians  —  The  cacique  is  overpowered  and  conveyed  to  the  boat  of  Juan 
Sanchez — The  wily  Indian  succeeds  in  making  his  escape 353 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

DISASTERS    TO    THE    SETTLEMENT.       [l5°3-] 

Columbus  successfully  clears  the  bar,  leaving  his  brother  behind — Furious  for  revenge,  Quibian  gathers  a 
great  number  of  warriors  together  and  assails  the  settlement — Is  repulsed — Death  of  Diego  Tristan  and 
massacre  of  all  of  his  companions — Attempt  to  abandon  the  place  frustrated  by  the  shallowness  of  the 
water  on  the  bar — A  safer  place  is  chosen  for  the  settlement,  and  bulwarks  erected — Anxiety  on  board 
the  Admiral's  caravel  caused  by  the  non-return  of  Diego  Tristan — The  Indian  prisoners  at  midnight 
break  open  the  hatches  and  plunge  boldly  into  the  sea — Succeeds  in  establishing  communication  with 
his  brother — The  Spaniards  on  shore  insist  on  the  abandonment  of  the  settlement  for  the  present,  and 
all  embark — Constant  perturbations,  sleepless  anguish,  acute  maladies  of  the  body,  produce  a  partial 
delirium — Has  a  vision — His  solemn  belief  that  he  is  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence — Every- 
thing of  value  is  brought  on  board,  and  Diego  Mendez  made  captain  of  the  caravel,  lately  commanded 
by  the  unfortunate  Diego  Tristan         ..............  361 

CHAPTER  XL. 

VOYAGE    TO    JAMAICA TRANSACTIONS    AT    THAT    ISLAND.       [1503.] 

Attempts  to  make  his  way  to  Hayti — In  the  harbor  of  Puerto  Bello  is  compelled  to  abandon  one  of  the  car- 
avels— Is  carried  out  of  his  course  by  the  currents,  among  the  islands  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba — A 
violent  storm  disables  his  ships  severely,  and  he  seeks  a  secure  port  on  the  island  of  Jamaica — He  runs 
the  caravels  aground,  fastens  them  together,  and  erects  on  their  water-logged  hulks  temporary  cabins — 
Friendly  intercourse  with  the  Indians — Diego  Mendez  sallies  forth  to  procure  canoes,  and  makes  ar- 
rangements with  the  caciques  at  a  distance  to  furnish  food — The  venerable  Admiral  unbosoms  himself 
to  Mendez,  tells  him  of  his  fears  and  plans — "  Senor,  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose,  yet  I  am  willing  to 
venture  it  in  your  service  " — Preparations  for  crossing  the  open  ocean  in  an   Indian  canoe — Letter  to 


XXX  CONTENTS. 

Governor  Ovando  imploring  help — Diego  Mendez  with  a  Spanish  comrade  and  six  Indians,  start  on 
their  perilous  journey — Are  captured  by  Indians,  but  Mendez  effects  his  escape — Returns  alone  after  15 
days'  absence — Nothing  daunted,  a  second  attempt  is  made,  and  accompanied  by  the  Adelantado  on 
shore,  the  two  canoes,  of  which  the  expedition  now  consists,  launch  forth  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the 
sea         .................... 

CHAPTER  XLI. 


366 


MUTINY    OF    PORRAS — ECLIPSE   OF   THE    MOON STRATAGEM    OF    COLUMBUS    TO    PROCURE 

SUPPLIES    FROM    THE    INDIANS.        [1503.] 

Months  elapse  and  fears  are  entertained  that  the  messengers  have  perished — By  insidious  suggestions,  two 
vain  and  insolent  officers,  Porras  by  name,  prepare  the  shipwrecked  crew  to  revolt — They  are  opposed 
by  the  Adelantado — Departure  of  Porras  with  most  of  the  crew  in  ten  canoes — Their  attempt  to  cross  the 
open  sea  unsuccessful — Licentious  conduct  of  the  rebels  on  the  island — The  Indians  become  negligent 
in  the  supply  of  food  for  the  crew  of  Columbus — The  horrors  of  a  famine  threaten — Aware  that  within 
three  days  the  moon  will  be  totally  eclipsed,  Columbus  informs  the  caciques  "that  their  great  Deity  is 
incensed  against  them,  and  will  hereafter  hide  his  face  from  them  " — When  they  behold  the  black 
shadow  steal  over  the  moon  consternation  seizes  them — They  bring  provisions,  and  implore  his  inter- 
cession with  the  god      ........         .........  373 

CHAPTER   XLII. 

ARRIVAL    OF    DIEGO    DE    ESCOBAR    AT    THE    HARBOR BATTLE    WITH    THE    REBELS.        [1504.] 

Another  conspiracy  is  about  to  break  out  when  a  caravel  heaves  in  sight — Peculiar  and  mysterious  conduct 
of  its  commander,  Diego  de  Escobar — He  disappears  after  receiving  letters  from  the  Admiral  addressed 
to  Ovando — The  Admiral  makes  overtures  to  the  rebels — Insolent  demands  of  Porras — Marches  his 
adherents  toward  the  harbor  to  seize  the  stores  and  get  the  Admiral  into  his  power — Is  met  by  the  Adel- 
antado and  his  hardy  sailors — They  vanquish  and  take  him  prisoner — His  followers  next  day  sue  for 
pardon  ....................  379 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

VOYAGE    OF    DIEGO    MENDEZ    TO   HISPANIOLA DELIVERANCE    OF    COLUMBUS   FROM    THE    ISLAND 

OF    JAMAICA.        [1504.] 

The  burning  rays  of  the  sun  sorely  try  the  endurance  of  the  Indian  boatmen  the  first  day  out — Exces- 
sively fatigued,  a  lack  of  water  adds  to  their  distress — The  torments  of  thirst  increase  their  misery,  and 
is  only  partially  allayed  by  the  few  mouthfuls  of  water  handed  them  by  their  Spanish  companions — The 
night  again  closes  upon  them  without  any  sight  of  land — One  Indian  dies,  others  are  laying  panting  at 
the  bottom  of  the  boat — When  the  moon  rises  Mendez  perceives  it  to  emerge  from  behind  a  dark  mass — 
It  is  the  island  of  Navassa,  and  his  expiring  companions  are  aroused  to  new  life — He  remains  all  day 
on  the  barren  rock  ;  sets  off  in  the  evening,  and  safely  reaches  Cape  Tiburon,  in  Jamaica,  on  the  following 
day — Mendez  parts  with  his  companions,  and  starts  for  San  Domingo  in  a  canoe — Hears  of  the  absence 
of  the  governor  from  that  city  and  proceeds  alone,  and  on  foot,  through  forests  and  mountains  to  Xara- 
gua — The  governor  expresses  great  concern  for  the  fate  of  Columbus,  but  delays  succor — Mendez  ob- 
tains permission  to  go  to  San  Domingo  and  obtain  a  caravel — Sets  out  on  his  toilsome  journey  on  foot, 
and  after  unheard  of  hardships  reaches  the  place — Procures  the  caravel  and  Columbus,  after  a  long  year 
of  dismal  confinement  to  the  wreck,  embarks  for  Hayti  with  friends  and  foes — The  further  fortunes  of 
Mendez — Jealousy  and  distrust  make  the  sojourn  of  Columbus  there  galling  and  annoying    .         .         .   383 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 

AFFAIRS    AT    HISPANIOLA    DURING    THE    ADMINISTRATION    OF    OVANDO RETURN    OF    COLUMBUS 

TO   SPAIN.       [1504.] 

Ovando's  crowds  of  adventurers  swarm  to  the  mines — Their  labor  gave  them  a  keen  appetite  and  quick  di- 
gestion,  but  no  gold  —  Some  waste  away,    others  die   broken-hearted,  or  are  hurried  off  by   raging 


CONTENTS.  xxxi 

fevers — Ovando  changes  his  Indian  policy — Under  cover  of  hiring  the  labor  of  the  natives,  intolerable 
toil  is  exacted  from  them — Many  kill  themselves  in  despair ;  mothers  overcome  the  powerful  instinct  of 
nature,  and  destroy  the  infants  at  their  breasts — Some  sink  down  by  the  side  of  a  brook  or  under  the 
shade  of  a  tree,  worn  down  by  incessant  toil  and  hardship — His  troops  ravage  the  country  with  fire  and 
sword,  and  put  many  to  death  with  the  most  wanton,  ingenious,  and  horrible  torture — Cruel  butchery  of 
80  caciques — Anacaona  carried  off  to  San  Domingo  and  barbarously  hanged — "  The  five  great  tribes 
which  had  peopled  the  island  have  perished,"  writes  Columbus  to  the  sovereigns — His  own  affairs  in  bad 
order — He  embarks  for  Spain       ...............   390 

CHAPTER   XLV. 

FRUITLESS    APPLICATION    OF    COLUMBUS    TO    BE    REINSTATED    IN    HIS    GOVERNMENT — HIS    LAST 

ILLNESS  AND  DEATH.       [1504.] 

His  residence  in  Seville — The  world  thinks  him  rich,  while  he  is  suffering  pecuniary  want — Lives  by  bor- 
rowing— His  infirmities  prevent  him  from  going  to  court — His  letters  unregarded — Asks  Diego  Mendez 
to  counteract  the  falsehoods  of  Porras,  who  has  influential  friends  near  the  throne — The  intrigues  of 
his  enemies  prevail — Sickness  of  Isabella — Pines  in  state;  an  incurable  melancholy  settles  upon  her — 
Her  death,  dying  command,  and  will — Tribute  of  Columbus  to  her  memory — Her  death  a  fatal  blow  to 
his  fortunes — Employs  the  Adelantado  and  Amerigo  Vespucci  in  his  missions  at  court — Columbus  ar- 
rives at  Segovia — Cold  reception  by  the  calculating  Ferdinand — Humiliating  solicitation  to  obtain  the 
restitution  of  his  high  offices — Is  referred  to  a  tribunal — Sickness  of  Columbus — Last  appeal  to  the 
king — Addresses  the  Archbishop  of  Seville  —  Arrival  of  King  Philip  and  Juana  from  Flanders — The 
sanguine  and  unconquerable  spirit  of  Columbus  speaks  from  his  dying  bed  with  all  the  confidence  of 
youth — He  arranges  his  earthly  affairs,  makes  his  last  will  and  testament,  and  with  "  Into  thy  hands,  O 
Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit,"  breathes  his  last  on  the  20th  of  May,  1506,  in  the  city  of  Valladolid  .  397 

CHAPTER   XLVI. 

OBSEQUIES   OF    COLUMBUS. 

The  body  of  Columbus  deposited  in  the  convent  of  S.  Francisco  in  Valladolid — His  remains  transported,  in 
1 513,  to  the  Carthusian  convent  of  Las  Cuevas,  at  Seville — Removal  of  same  to  San  Domingo  in  1536 
and  interment  aside  the  grand  altar  of  the  cathedral,  thence  to  Havana  in  1795 — Supposed  to  be  still 
lying  in  San  Domingo 408 

CHAPTER  XI.VII. 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    THE    CHARACTER    OF    COLUMBUS.       .  -   .  .  „  .412 


Book  II. — The  Conquest  of  Mexico. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

THE    CONQUEST    AND    SETTLEMENT    OF    THE   ISLAND    OF    CUBA.       [1311.] 

The  rigorous  treatment  of  the  Spaniards  having  nearly  extirpated  the  Indian  race  from  Hayti,  Diego  Co- 
lumbus proposes  to  conquer  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  gives  the  command  of  the  invading  army  to  Don 
Diego  Velasquez — LTnwarlike  character  of  the  natives — The  only  obstruction  the  Spaniards  meet  with, 
is  from  the  cacique  Hatuey — His  feeble  troops  soon  dispersed  and  himself  taken  prisoner — The  Span- 
iards condemn  him  to  the  stake — A  Franciscan  friar  labors  to  convert  him,  and  promises  him  immedi- 
ate admittance  to  the  joys  of  heaven — "  Are  there  any  Spaniards  there  ?"  inquires  the  burning  cacique, 
"if  so,  I  will  not  go  to  a  place  where  I  may  meet  with  one  of  the  accursed  race"- — This  dreadful  exam- 
ple of  vengeance  strikes  terror  into  the  people  of  Cuba,  and  they  tamely  submit  to  the  yoke — Cuba 
becomes  one  of  the  most  flourishing  settlements  —  The  spirit  of  adventure  and  discovery  breaks  out 
anew — An  expedition  is  fitted  out  under  the  command  of  Francisco  Hernandez  Cordova,  and  sails  from 
the  harbor  of  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1 5 1 7 — Twenty-one  days  out,  they  see  land,  which 


XXX11  CONTENTS. 

proves  to  be  Cape  Catoche  on  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan — They  land,  and  are  astonished  to  see  the  high 
state  of  civilization  of  the  people— Houses  of  stone  greet  the  eyes  of  the  discoverers  for  the  first  time  in 
the  New  World — The  natives  more  artful  and  warlike  than  the  inhabitants  elsewhere — The  cacique,  pre- 
tending to  act  friendly,  draws  them  into  an  ambush,  but  the  Indians,  struck  with  terror  by  the  sudden 
explosion  of  fire-arms,  fly  precipitately — Cordova  continues  his  course  in  a  westerly  direction,  surprised 
not  to  observe  any  river — On  the  sixteenth  day  out  they  come  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Potonchan, 
and  land  to  refill  their  water-casks — The  Spaniards  are  suddenly  attacked,  47  of  them  being  killed — 
They  retreat  to  their  ships,  unable  to  procure  water,  and  many  of  them  die  on  the  passage  to  Cuba, 
suffering  exquisite  distress  for  want  of  water;  among  them  Cordova 421 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

VOYAGE    OF    JUAN    DE    GRIJALVA DISCOVERY    OF    NEW    SPAIN    THE   MODERN    MEXICO.       [1518.] 

Velasquez,  solicitous  to  distinguish  himself,  fits  out  four  ships  for  a  second  expedition,  notwithstanding  the 
disastrous  conclusion  of  the  first — Gives  the  command  over  same  to  Juan  de  Grijalva,  with  instructions  to 
barter  for  gold,  and  if  circumstances  are  inviting  to  settle  a  colony — Sails  from  St.  Jago  de  Cuba  on  the 
8th  of  April,  1518,  but  is  carried  by  the  violence  of  the  currents  to  the  south,  and  lands  on  the  island  of 
Cozumel,  east  of  Yucatan — Makes  but  a  short  stay  there,  and  prompted  by  the  desire  to  avenge  his 
slain  countrymen,  repairs  to  Potonchan — Disembarks  all  the  troops,  and  some  field-pieces,  but  the  Indians 
fight  with  such  courage,  that  the  Spaniards  gain  the  victory  only  with  difficulty — He  leaves  the  neighbor- 
hood and  coasts  along  the  shore  towards  the  west — Beholds,  with  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  wonder, 
houses  which  appear  white  and  lofty — In  the  warmth  of  his  admiration  he  calls  the  country  New  Spain — 
Lands  in  a  river  called  by  the  natives  Tabasco,  and  is  amicably  received  by  the  cacique  of  Guaxaca — 
The  latter  bestows  valuable  presents,  and  thus  confirms  the  ideas  the  Spaniards  formed  of  the  wealth  of 
the  country — They  obtain  15,000  pesos  worth  of  gold  in  barter  for  their  baubles — Two  prisoners  from 
Yucatan,  which  they  have  on  board,  and  who  acted  as  interpreters  until  now,  fail  to  make  themselves 
understood — Hear  of  Montezuma — They  proceed  further  west  and  land  at  the  "  Isle  of  Sacrifices," 
where  they  behold,  for  the  first  time,  the  horrid  spectacle  of  human  victims — Grijalva  touches  at  the 
island  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa,  and  dispatches  Pedro  de  Alvarado  to  Velasquez  with  a  full  account  of  his 
important  discoveries — He  continues  his  voyage  of  discovery,  and  though  importuned  to  plant  a  colony, 
the  scheme  appears  to  him  too  perilous — He  returns  to  St.  Jago  de  Cuba — Velasquez  sends  'he  news  to 
Spain,  jealous  and  distrustful  of  Grijalva,  prepares  a  powerful  armament  before  his  arrival      .         .         .    427 

CHAPTER    L. 

APPOINTMENT    OF    CORTES    AS    COMMANDER    OF    THE    EXPEDITION VELASQUEZ    BECOMES    JEALOUS 

OF    HIM    AND    ENDEAVORS  TO   DEPRIVE    HIM    OF    THE    COMMAND.        [1518.] 

Grijalva  returns  to  Cuba,  and  finds  the  new  armament  almost  complete — Velasquez  himself  unfitted  to  lead 
the  expedition,  is  solicitous  to  choose  a  commander  of  intrepid  resolution,  and  of  superior  abilities — Diffi- 
culties encountered — The  royal  treasurer,  and  his  own  secretary  recommend  with  assiduity  and  address, 
Fernando  Cortes — Character  and  biography  of  the  man — Originally  destined  for  the  law — Is  sent  to  the 
University  of  Salamanca — Is  disgusted  with  an  academic  life,  gives  himself  to  active  sports  and  martial 
exercises — His  father  sends  him  abroad  as  an  adventurer  in  arms — Lands  in  San  Domingo  and  is  em- 
ployed by  Governor  Ovando  in  several  lucrative  and  honorable  stations  —  Accompanies  Velasquez 
to  Cuba — Distinguishes  himself  in  his  service,  and  receives  an  ample  concession  of  land  as  recom- 
pense— He  settles  into  a  habit  of  regular  indefatigable  activity — Receives  his  appointment  with  warm- 
est expressions  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  the  governor — Mortgages  his  lands  to  raise  additional  means, 
and  exerts  his  influence  in  persuading  his  friends  to  engage  in  the  service — His  disappointed  competitors 
represent  him  as  already  aiming  at  establishing  an  independent  authority  over  his  troops — The  insinu- 
ations make  such  an  impression  upon  the  suspicious  mind  of  Velasquez,  that  Cortes  is  advised  by  his 
friends  to  hasten  his  embarkation — Velasquez  takes  leave  of  him  with  an  appearance  of  perfect  friend- 
ship, though  secretly  he  gives  the  expedition  in  charge  of  some  of  Cortes'  officers. — Arrives  at  Trinidad 
on  the  same  side  of  the  island  to  receive  additional  military  stores  and  provisions,  and  is  there  overtaken 
by  orders  depriving  him  of  his  command — He  soothes  or  intimidates  the  officer  who  is  charged  with 
their  execution,  and  proceeds  to  Havana — Velasquez   sends  peremptory   injunctions  to  his  lieutenant 


CONTENTS.  XX.X111 

there,  to  arrest  him,  and  prevent  the  fleet  from  departing — Before  his  messenger  arrives,  Cortes, 
warned  by  a  Franciscan  monk,  disposes  of  Diego  de  Ordaz,  and  informs  his  troops  of  the  intentions  of 
Velasquez — They  entreat  him  not  to  abandon  his  important  station,  and  he  hastens  the  departure  of  his 
fleet  of  ii  vessels,  with  617  men  aboard,  besides  16  horses,  10  small  field  pieces,  and  4  falconets    .         .  433 

CHAPTER  LI. 

DEPARTURE    FROM    CUBA    AND   LANDING    AT   TABASCO — FIRST    INTERVIEW    WITH    THE    MEXICANS 
AND    NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    MONTEZUMA.       Q1519.] 

Religious  enthusiasm  always  mingles  with  the  spirit  of  adventure  in  the  New  World  —  Cortes  displays  a 
large  cross  on  his  standards  inscribed  "  Let  us  follow  the  cross,  for  under  this  sign  we  shall  con- 
quer " — On  landing  at  the  island  of  Cozumel  has  the  good  fortune  to  redeem  Jerome  de  Aguilar, 
a  prisoner  to  the  natives  for  eight  years,  and  who  perfectly  understands  their  language — Finds  the 
disposition  of  inhabitants  of  Tabasco  entirely  changed  and  hostile  to  him — Is  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  force — The  Indians  being  entirely  routed  in  a  pitched  battle  sue  for  peace,  offering  cotton  garments, 
gold,  twenty  female  slaves,  and  acknowledge  the  king  of  Castile  as  their  sovereign  —  Continues  his 
course  westward,  and  is  addressed  in  the  harbor  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa  by  two  persons  of' distinction, 
who  come  aboard  his  ship — Aguilar  unable  to  understand  their  language — His  perplexity — One  of  the 
female  slaves  received  at  Tabasco  perceives  his  distress,  and  able  to  speak  the  Mexican  as  well  as  the 
Yucatan  language,  becomes  of  extraordinary  service  to  Cortes — She  is  known  afterwards  as  Dona  Ma- 
rina— -Learns  that  the  dignitaries  are  deputies  of  Teutile  and  Pilpatoe,  governors  of  this  province  of 
Montezuma's,  and  instructed  by  the  Emperor  to  offer  him  what  assistance  he  might  need  in  order  to  con- 
tinue his  voyage — He  informs  them  that  he  comes  to  propose  matters  of  great  importance  to  the  prince 
and  his  kingdom  — Lands  all  his  troops,  horses,  and  artillery  next  morning,  and  erects  a  fortified  camp, 
assisted  in  that  operation  by  the  willing  hands  of  the  natives — Receives  Teutile  and  Pilpatoe  next  day 
with  much  formal  ceremony — Informs  them  that  the  king  of  Castile,  the  greatest  monarch  of  the  East, 
has  intrusted  him  with  propositions  of  such  moment  to  their  emperor,  to  whom  he  is  ordered  to  impart 
them  in  person,  that  should  require  them  to  conduct  him  without  loss  of  time  into  his  presence — 
They  attempt  to  dissuade  him  from  insisting  on  his  demand,  and  endeavor  to  conciliate  his  good  will 
with  rich  presents — The  display  of  these  riches  increases  the  avidity  of  the  Spaniards — Mexican  paint- 
ers are  diligently  employed  during  this  interview  in  delineating  upon  cotton  fabrics  the  Spanish  camp — 
He  learns  the  object  of  these  representations,  and  orders  the  trumpets  to  sound  an  alarm — Gives  such 
an  exhibition  of  the  extraordinary  prowess  of  his  followers,  that  the  Mexicans  are  awe-struck — At  the 
explosion  of  the  cannon  many  fly,  others  fall  to  the  ground,  and  Cortes  finds  it  difficult  to  compose  and 
reassure  them — The  picture-writings,  with  a  present  from  Cortes,  are  immediately  dispatched  to  Monte- 
zuma, and  an  answer  brought  back  within  a  few  days — To  soothe  and  mollify  Cortes,  they  accompany 
it  with  presents,  carried  by  100  natives  —  They  inform  him  that  their  master  would  not  grant  his 
request,  and  desires  him  to  quit  his  dominions  —  Cortes  declares  in  a  manner  more  resolute  and 
peremptory  than  formerly,  that  he  insists  on  his  first  demand,  and  the  Mexicans  prevail  with  him  to 
allow  them  a  few  additional  days,  without  moving  from  his  camp,  during  which  time  they  intend  to  get 
further  instructions — State  of  the  Mexican  empire  at  that  period 440 

CHAPTER   LII. 

Montezuma's  perplexity  and  terror  upon  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards — cortes 

establishes  a  civil  government  and   is  chosen  chief  justice 

and  captain  general. 

Character  of  Montezuma — Haughty,  violent,  and  impatient  of  control — Governs  with  unexampled  rigor — His 
talents  inadequate  to  a  conjuncture  so  extraordinary  as  the  invasion  of  Mexico  by  Cortes — From  the 
moment  of  their  landing  shows  symptoms  of  timidity  and  embarrassment — A  general  belief  of  some 
dreadful  calamity  which  is  about  to  come  to  pass  augments  his  fears  and  forebodings — The  calamity  to 
come  in  the  shape  of  formidable  invaders  from  an  eastern  unknown  race,  and  generally  believed  by  all 
his  superstitious  and  credulous  subjects — Montezuma's  rage,  natural  to  a  fierce  prince,  when  he  finds  the 
Spaniards  disregarding  his  orders  to  leave  the  country — His  counselors  advise  him  to  issue  more  positive 


XXXIV  CONTENTS. 

and  stringent  orders  to  Cortes,  and  preposterously  accompany  it  with  a  present  of  great  value — Anxiety 
of  the  Spaniards  pending  these  negotiations — The  more  timid  amongst  them  contend  that  it  would  be  an 
act  of  wildest  frenzy  to  attack  such  a  well  regulated,  powerful  empire — Cortes,  by  various  acts  of  gener- 
osity, liberality,  and  intrigues,  secures  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  army,  and  the  approval  of  his  plans 
of  campaign  against  the  Aztec  empire — Teutile  arrives,  during  the  progress  of  these  intrigues,  with  pres- 
ents and  the  ultimatum  of  Montezuma — Cortes  maintains  his  former  position,  and  Teutile  quits  the  camp 
with  looks  and  gestures  which  strongly  express  his  surprise  and  resentment — Friendly  intercourse  ceases — 
The  adherents  of  Velasquez,  emboldened  by  the  sudden  consternation  which  befalls  everybody  in  the 
camp,  not  only  murmur  and  cabal  against  Cortes,  but  commission  Diego  de  Ordaz  to  him  with  the  request 
to  return  to  Cuba  for  reinforcements — He  pretends  to  acquiesce,  and  issues  his  order  for  an  immediate 
return — The  disappointed  part  of  his  adventurers  exclaim  and  threaten  against  it,  considering  it  unworthy 
of  Castilian  courage,  and,  if  persisted  in,  will  choose  another  commander — Cortes,  secretly  pleased  with 
their  ardor,  takes  no  offense  at  the  boldness  of  their  utterances — His  consummate  skill  in  carrying  out  his 
designs — Addresses  the  army,  promises  to  resume  with  fresh  ardor  his  original  plan  of  operation,  and  is 
greeted  with  enthusiastic  shouts  of  applause — Establishes  a  form  of  civil  government,  and  claims  before 
the  court  thus  established  that,  his  commission  from  Velasquez  having  been  revoked,  the  lawfulness  of 
his  jurisdiction  might  well  be  questioned — He  resigns  all  authority  to  them  as  representative  of  the  Span- 
ish monarch ;  and  though  accustomed  to  command,  had  not  forgotten  to  obey — His  resignation  is 
accepted — After  a  short  deliberation  the  council,  who  were  in  reality  his  confidants,  inform  him  that  as 
his  conduct  afforded  them  the  most  satisfying  evidence  of  his  ability  to  command,  they  have  elected  him 
chief  justice  of  the  colony  and  captain-general  of  the  army  by  their  unanimous  suffrage — The  soldiers  with 
eager  applause  ratify  their  choice,  and  the  air  resounds  with  the  name  of  Cortes 450 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

CORTES    ASCERTAINS   THAT   THE   YOKE   OF   AZTEC   CONFEDERACY    IS    BORNE    UNWILLINGLY    BY 

MANY    TOWNS    AND    DISTRICTS HIS    MARCH    TO   CEMPOALA    AND    TREATY    WITH 

THE    CACIQUE DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    FLEET. 

Cortes  assumes  greater  dignity,  and  exercises  more  extensive  power,  now  that  he  acts  as  representative  of  the 
sovereign — The  adherents  of  Velasquez  exclaim  openly  against  the  proceedings  as  seditious,  and  he  con- 
fines the  ringleaders,  loaded  with  chains,  aboard  the  fleet — He  courts  their  friendship,  and  they  become 
perfectly  reconciled  to  him,  and  ever  after  nothing  swerves  them  from  an  inviolable  attachment  to  his 
interest — Cortes  receives  the  messengers  from  the  cacique  of  Cempoala ;  learns  from  them  that  he  desires 
his  friendship,  and,  impatient  of  the  Mexican  yoke,  nothing  could  be  more  desirable  to  him  than  deliver- 
ance from  the  oppression  under  which  he  groans — Cortes  concludes  that  the  great  empire  of  Montezuma 
is  not  perfectly  united,  nor  its  sovereign  universally  beloved — Reasons  that  the  cause  of  dissatisfaction 
cannot  be  confined  to  one  corner  of  the  realm,  and  that  the  malcontents  would  follow  the  standard 
of  any  protector — He  marches  to  Cempoala,  and  is  received  by  everybody  with  gifts  and  caresses,  and 
respect  approaching  almost  adoration — The  cacique  paints  the  character  of  Montezuma — Cortes  encour- 
ages him  to  look  to  him  for  redress,  and  continues  his  march  to  Ouiabislan — Assisted  by  the  natives  of 
Cempoala  and  Ouiabislan,  and  pressing  every  man  of  his  army  into  service,  he  erects  a  fort  there  in 
order  to  secure  a  place  of  retreat,  and  to  preserve  his  communications  with  the  sea — Concludes  a  formal 
alliance  with  several  caciques,  inspiring  them  with  such  a  high  opinion  of  the  Spaniards,  that  they  insult 
the  messengers  of  Montezuma,  who  come  to  demand  victims  for  their  blood-reeking  altars — The  messen- 
gers are  arrested,  and  only  the  powerful  interposition  of  Cortes  saves  them  from  being  themselves  sacri- 
ficed— Cortes  takes  measures  to  procure  a  confirmation  of  his  authority  by  the  king — The  magistrates  of 
the  colony  write  a  letter  to  Charles  V.  in  which  they  belittle  the  motives  of  Velasquez,  and  extol  the  mer- 
its of  Cortes — He  induces  his  soldiers  to  relinquish  their  part  of  the  golden  spoils  thus  far  gathered,  and 
sends  them  with  the  letters  to  Spain — A  conspiracy  is  at  that  moment  detected  by  him  which  involves 
the  capture  of  one  of  his  brigantines — He  concludes  to  scuttle  his  ships,  and  persuades  and  labors  with 
his  army  to  adopt  his  ideas  with  respect  to  the  propriety  of  this  measure — Five  hundred  men  voluntarily 
consent,  from  an  effort  of  magnanimity,  to  shut  themselves  up  in  a  hostile  country,  depending  upon  no 
other  resources  but  their  own  valor  and  perseverance 46° 


CONTENTS.  XXXV 


CHAPTER  LIV. 


ADVANCE    INTO   THE    HEART   OF    MEXICO SUCCESSFUL    TERMINATION    OF    THE    WAR    WITH    THE 

TLASCALANS CONCLUDES    A    TREATY    OF    PEACE    WITH    THEM. 

By  an  indiscreet  sally  of  religious  zeal,  Cortes  is  precipitated  into  actions  inconsistent  with  the  prudence  of 
his  character — Orders  the  overturning  of  the  altars  and  destruction  of  the  idols  of  the  Cempoalans — 
The  native  priests  excite  the  populace  to  arms,  but  Cortes  is  enabled  to  appease  the  commotion  with- 
out bloodshed — On  the  16th  of  August  he  starts  out  with  an  army  of  500  men,  15  horse,  and  6  field 
pieces  towards  the  republic  of  Tlascala — Is  accompanied  by  400  Cempoalan  warriors  and  a  host  of 
"  tamemes  "  (Indian  porters),  who  relieve  his  men  from  the  drudgery  of  hauling  the  guns  and  carrying 
the  baggage — The  port  of  Villa  Rica  left  in  charge  of  the  trusty  Escalante,  with  the  disabled  or  in- 
firm— Character  of  the  mountaineers  of  Tlascala — Less  civilized  than  the  subjects  of  Montezuma,  fierce 
and  revengeful,  high  spirited  and  independent — Formerly  allies  of  the  Cempoalans,  but  involved  in 
perpetual  hostilities  with  all  their  neighbors — The  love  of  liberty  makes  them  detest  their  servile  neigh- 
bors, and  wage  successful  contests  against  the  superior  power  of  the  Mexicans — Four  Cempoalans  of 
eminence  are  sent  by  Cortes  as  ambassadors  to  ask  permission  to  pass  through  their  territories — They 
receive  an  unwelcome  reception,  and  the  Tlascalans  prepare  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  troops  of 
Cortes — Probable  motives  prompting  them  thereto — Battle  with  the  Tlascalans,  in  which  the  Spaniards 
sustain  severe  losses — During  fourteen  days  almost  uninterruptedly  assaulted,  he  proceeds  very  cau- 
tiously— The  Tlascalans,  though  addicted  to  war,  strangers  to  military  order  and  discipline — Queer  su- 
perstitions and  habits  of  the  Tlascalans — They  keep  continually  sending  poultry  and  maize  (Indian 
corn)  to  the  Spaniards,  because  they  scorn  to  attack  an  enemy  enfeebled  by  hunger,  or  affront  their 
gods  by  offering  them  famished  victims — They  apply  to  their  priests  to  reveal  to  them  the  unknown 
cause,  why,  in  so  many  hard-fought  battles,  they  have  been  unsuccessful  in  killing  a  single  Span- 
iard?— Informed  that  the  strangers  are  the  children  of  the  sun,  and  invulnerable  in  day  time — In  con- 
tradiction with  their  war  maxims,  they  attack  them  at  night,  but  are  signally  repulsed — Cruel  measures 
adopted  by  Cortes  with  some  50  spies,  whose  hands  he  orders  cut  off — The  Tlascalans  disposed  to 
peace — Peace  concluded,  and  the  republic  taken  under  his  protection 474 

CHAPTER  LV. 

CORTES  SOLICITOUS  TO    GAIN  THE  CONFIDENCE    OF    HIS    NEW    CONFEDERATES,   WHICH    HE,   BARELY 

GAINED,    JEOPARDIZES    BY    HIS    RELIGIOUS    ZEAL ADVANCES    TO    CHOLULA, 

WHERE    HE    MASSACRES    6000    INHABITANTS,    AND   THENCE 
ON    TO   THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO.       [1519.] 

Cortes  enters  the  city  of  Tlascala — His  army  in  a  wretched  condition — Worn  out  by  incessant  toil,  destitute 
during  the  weary  campaign  of  the  necessaries  most  requisite,  and  compelled  to  dress  their  wounds 
with  the  fat  of  their  slain  enemies  for  want  of  salve,  many  of  them  begin  to  murmur — It  requires  the 
utmost  exertion  of  Cortes'  authority  and  address  to  check  the  spirit  of  despondency  and  re-animate  his 
followers — He  makes  a  stay  of  twenty  days  in  Tlascala  to  recuperate  the  health  of  his  army  from  their 
fatigues — Makes  diligent  inquiry  into  the  condition  of  the  empire,  and  perceives  what  benefit  he  would 
derive  from  the  aid  of  his  new  and  powerful  confederates — They  anticipate  his  wishes  and  offer  their 
services — Cortes,  as  well  as  his  army,  considering  themselves  as  instruments  employed  by  heaven  to 
propagate  the  Christian  faith,  press  with  inconsiderate  impetuosity  their  new  allies  to  abandon  their 
deities  and  kneel  down  to  the  true  cross — Cortes  threatens  to  overturn  their  altars  and  cast  down  their 
idols,  when  the  politic  though  tolerant  Bartholomew  de  Olmedo,  chaplain  to  the  expedition,  demon- 
strates to  him  the  fallacy  of  the  measure — The  Tlascalans  are  left  in  the  undisturbed  exercise  of  their 
rights,  required  only  to  desist  from  their  horrid  practice  of  offering  human  sacrifices — Accompanied  by 
6,000  Tlascalans,  he  resumes  hTs  march  toward  the  holy  city  of  Cholula,  whither  Montezuma  had  in- 
vited him — Cortes  is  received  into  the  town  by  the  Cholulans  with  much  seemir.g  respect,  but  his  allies 
are  refused  admittance — Dona  Marina  receives  information  from  an  Indian  woman  she  has  befriended, 
that  the  destruction  of  the  Spaniards  was  concerted — Effectual  measures  already  adopted  and  executed, 
and  their  ruin  unavoidable — Cortes,  alarmed,  secretly  arrests  three  of  the  chief  priests,  and  extorts  from 
them  a  confession  confirming  the  intelligence  which  he  had  received — He  perfects  his  plans  to  inflict 
such  dreadful  vengeance  on  the  Cholulans  as  will  strike  Montezuma  and  his  subjects  with  terror,  which 


XXXVI  CONTENTS. 

result  in  a  horrible  butchery  and  carnage — The  massacre  lasts  two  days,  during  which  time  6,000  In- 
dians are  killed — He  upbraids  the  captive  magistrates  of  the  city  with  their  intended  treachery,  but 
releases  them  with  the  instruction  to  establish  order  in  the  town  and  recall  the  fugitives — -Cortes  resumes 
his  march — The  caciques  and  governors  of  the  provinces  through  which  he  passes  communicate  their 
grievances  to  him,  and  he  concludes  that  the  vital  parts  of  the  Mexican  constitution  are  affected — In 
descending  the  mountain  of  Chalco,  the  vast  plain  of  Mexico,  one  of  the  most  striking  and  beautiful, 
opens  to  the  view  of  the  invaders,  and  they  imagine  they  behold  the  enchanted  palaces  and  gilded 
domes  of  some  fanciful  romance — Flatter  themselves  that  they  will  obtain  ample  recompense  for  all 
their  services  and  sufferings — The  irresolution  of  Montezuma  so  great,  that  Cortes  is  before  Mexico  be- 
fore the  monarch  has  determined  whether  to  receive  him  as  friend  or  enemy 483 

CHAPTER   LVI. 

FIRST    INTERVIEW    WITH    MONTEZUMA ENTRY    INTO    THE    CITY THE    DANGEROUS    SITUATION    OF 

HIS    ARMY    COMPELS    HIM    TO    ADOPT    EXTREME    MEASURES — MONTEZUMA    SEIZED    IN 
HIS    PALACE   AND    CARRIED    PRISONER    TO    THE   SPANISH    QUARTERS. 

Cortes  is  received  by  a  deputation  of  1,000  distinguished  looking  persons,  who  announce  to  him  the  approach 
of  the  emperor — His  harbingers  come  in  sight — Seated  on  a  golden  litter,  and  surrounded  by  an  im- 
mense retinue  of  officers,  favorites,  and  servants,  he  approaches — Cortes  accosts  him  with  profound 
reverence,  and  he  returns  the  salutation  according  to  the  mode  of  his  country — Montezuma  conducts 
Cortes  to  the  quarters  prepared  for  him,  and  immediately  takes  his  leave — The  place,  a  large  building 
surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  and  its  apartments  so  large  as  to  accommodate  both  the  Spaniards  and  their 
Indian  allies — Cortes  takes  precautionary  measures — Montezuma  returns  to  visit  his  guests  again  in  the 
evening,  bringing  presents  of  such  value  as  proved  his  liberality  to  be  equal  to  the  opulence  of  the 
kingdom — Has  a  long  conference  and  makes  Cortes  acquainted  with  the  traditions  and  prophecies  of  his 
people,  which  have  foretold  his  coming — Artful  reply  of  Cortes — Audience  with  the  emperor  on  the  fol- 
lowing day — Description  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  or  Tenochtitlan — Built  in  the  middle  of  a  lake,  and  con- 
nected by  causeways  with  the  opposite  shores — Magnificent  temples  and  houses — The  habitations  of 
the  common  people  mere  huts — Large  market  places  allotted  for  traffic  to  the  60,000  inhabitants — It  is 
the  pride  of  the  New  World,  the  noblest  monument  of  the  industry  and  art  of  man — The  dangerous 
situation  in  which  Cortes  finds  himself  placed  causes  him  uneasiness  and  perplexity — Is  warned  by  his 
allies  not  to  place  any  confidence  in  the  good  will  of  Montezuma — Hears  of  the  head  of  a  Spaniard  from 
the  garrison  of  Villa  Rica  having  been  sent  all  over  the  empire,  and  at  last  to  Mexico,  to  disprove  the 
fallacious  notion  that  the  invaders  were  immortal  beings — Becomes  sensible  that  though  the  valor  and 
discipline  of  his  troops  is  superior  to  the  natives,  the  success  of  his  enterprise  depends  solely  upon  the 
high  opinion  they  entertain  of  the  irresistible  power  of  his  arms — Upon  the  first  symptom  of  timidity  on 
his  part  their  veneration  would  cease,  and  Montezuma,  whom  fear  alone  restrains,  let  loose  the  whole 
force  of  his  empire — Resolves  to  seize  Montezuma — Daring  manner  of  the  execution  of  his  plans — 
Montezuma  arrested  in  his  own  palace  and  carried  to  the  Spanish  quarters — When  it  becomes  known 
to  the  populace,  they  break  out  in  the  wildest  transports  of  grief  and  rage,  threatening  the  Spaniards 
with  destruction — Cortes  compels  Montezuma  to  declare  to  the  populace  that  he  came  by  his  own  choice, 
and  desired  to  reside  with  his  new  friends  for  some  time — Quiet  is  restored  and  the  Mexicans  disperse  .   492 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

INDIGNITIES    HEAPED    UPON    MONTEZUMA — ACKNOWLEDGES    HIMSELF    A    VASSAL    OF    SPAIN 

MEXICAN    SCHEMES    FOR    LIBERATION. 

Montezuma  received  into  the  Spanish  quarters  with  apparent  respect ;  perfect  liberty  of  action  accorded  to 
him  and  to  his  officers,  who  visit  him  daily,  though  watched  with  scrupulous  vigilance — Qualpopoca,  and 
six  officers  brought  to  the  capital  by  Montezuma*s  orders,  and  formally  tried  by  a  Spanish  court  martial, 
which  condemns  them  to  be  burnt  alive — While  preparations  for  the  auto  da  Je  are  being  made,  Monte- 
zuma, who  as  author  of  the  crimes  committed  by  his  instrument  Qualpopoca,  has  also  been  found  guilty 
by  the  court,  is  informed  by  Cortes  that  it  becomes  necessary  for  him  to  make  atonement  for  his  guilt, 
and  orders  him  put  into  fetters — The  fetters  are  instantly  adjusted,  and  the  disconsolate  monarch  breaks 
out  into  loud  lamentations  and  complaints — His  attendants,  speechless  with  horror,  fall  at  his  feet,  bath- 


CONTENTS.  XXXV11 

ing  them  with  their  tears — After  Qualpopoca's  execution  Cortes  orders  Montezuma's  fetters  taken  off — 
Reasons  of  Cortes'  conduct — The  rigor  with  which  Cortes  punished  the  unhappy  persons,  makes  the 
impression  he  desires — Montezuma  overawed  and  subdued — He  is  permitted  to  receive  the  attendance 
of  his  ministers,  visit  the  temples,  yea,  even  goes  on  hunting  expeditions  beyond  the  lake,  in  company 
with  a  guard  of  a  few  Spaniards — The  dread,  or  veneration  which  he  and  his  subjects  have  oT  any  Span- 
iard, such,  that  no  attempt  is  made  to  deliver  him  from  confinement — Cortes  avails  himself  to  the  utmost 
of  the  power  he  possesses,  and  acts  in  the  name  of  Montezuma — Sends  exploring  parties  to  all  parts  of 
the  empire — Builds  two  brigantines  on  the  lake  with  the  aid  of  Montezuma's  subjects,  which  afford  a 
frivolous  amusement  to  the  monarch — Montezuma  prevailed  upon  to  acknowledge  himself  a  vassal  of 
Spain — He  calls  together  the  chief  men  of  his  empire,  who  interrupt  his  discourse  with  tears  and  groans — 
Cortes  foresees  a  violent  irruption  of  rage  to  be  near  at  hand,  interposes,  and  declares  that  his  master 
does  not  desire  to  deprive  Montezuma  of  any  dignities,  nor  the  empire  of  its  laws  or  constitution — Mon- 
tezuma, at  the  desire  of  Cortes,  accompanies  his  profession  of  fealty  with  a  magnificent  present  to  the 
Spanish  sovereign — Division  of  it,  and  the  discontent  it  occasions — Reasons  why  gold  was  found  in  such 
small  quantities — Montezuma's  inflexibility  with  respect  to  his  religion — Cortes  enraged  at  his  obstinacy, 
orders  his  soldiers  to  throw  down  the  idols  in  the  grand  temple  by  force — Resisted  by  the  priests  and  the 
natives — Schemes  of  the  Mexicans  to  destroy  the  Spaniards — Montezuma  informs  Cortes,  that  now  that 
his  embassy  has  accomplished  its  purpose,  he  and  his  army  had  better  retire,  or  the  Gods  and  the  Mex- 
ican people  would  destroy  them — Cortes  pretends  to  comply 502 

CHAPTER   LVIII. 

CORTES    RECEIVES    NEWS    OF    THE    ARRIVAL    OF    NARVAE2    SENT    AT    THE    HEAD    OF    A    NEW    ARMA- 
MENT   FITTED    OUT    BY    VELASQUEZ ATTEMPTS     NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    HIM,    WHICH 

FAILING,     HE    MARCHES    AGAINST,    AND    UTTERLY     ROUTS    HIM.         THE 
EFFECTS    OF    THIS   VICTORY. 

Anxiety  of  Cortes  about  the  success  of  his  mission  to  Spain,  and  dangers  surrounding  him  in  Mexico — 
Hears  of  the  arrival  of.  some  ships  at  the  coast,  and  imagines  his  messengers  have  returned,  but  is  at 
once  undeceived  by  news  from  Sandoval,  commander  of  Vera  Cruz — Motives  which  prompt  Velas- 
quez to  take  violent  measures — Appointed  by  the  crown  governor  for  life  over  the  newly  discovered 
regions,  with  more  extensive  powers  and  privileges  than  had  been  granted  to  any  adventurer  since  the 
time  of  Columbus — Determines  to  vindicate  his  own  rights,  and  the  honor  of  the  sovereign,  by  force  of 
arms — Gathers  together  an  armada  of  eighteen  ships,  fourscore  horsemen,  800  foot-soldiers,  and  120 
crossbow-men,  and  places  the  expedition  under  the  command  of  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez — Narvaez  lands 
at  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa,  and  is  joined  by  three  deserters  from  the  army  of  Cortes — Their  low  cunning  repre- 
sents the  situation  of  Cortes  to  be  desperate,  and  the  dissatisfaction  of  his  soldiers  general — Narvaez  sends  a 
priest  to  the  commander  of  Vera  Cruz,  with  summons  to  surrender  ;  Guevara  makes  the  requisition  with 
such  insolence,  that  the  high-spirited  Sandoval  seizes  him.  and  sends  him  prisoner  to  Cortes — Guevara 
received  by  Cortes  as  a  friend — Learns  of  the  intrigues  of  Narvaez,  set  afloat  among  the  natives,  which 
latter  had  already  begun  to  revolt  in  several  provinces — Montezuma  in  secret  intercourse  with  Narvaez — 
Deliberations  of  Cortes  concerning  his  own  conduct — After  revolving  every  scheme  with  deep  attention, 
fixes  upon  the  most  hazardous  one,  but  best  suited  to  desperate  situations — Determines  to  make  one  bold 
effort  for  victory,  rather  than  sacrifice  his  own  conquests— Sends  Father  Olmedo  to  negotiate  with  Nar- 
vaez and  his  officers,  who,  though  meeting  with  a  favorable  reception  by  some,  finds  the  untractable  arro- 
gance of  Narvaez  unyielding — Cortes  leaves  150  men  under  Alvarado  in  the  capital,  and  marches  with 
the  remainder  against  Narvaez. — His  strength,  after  being  reinforced  by  the  garrison  of  Vera  Cruz,  only 
250  men — Continues  negotiations  as  he  advances  towards  Cempoala,  and  by  various  bribes  succeeds  in 
gaining  adherents  to  his  cause — A  little  junto  excepted,  Narvaez  and  all  the  army  lean  towards  an  accom- 
modation— Narvaez  insists  on  recognition  of  his  title  as  Governor,  which  Cortes  refusing,  irritates  his  vio- 
lent temper  almost  to  madness — He  marches  out  to  offer  battle — Cortes  takes  advantage  of  a  favorable 
circumstance,  and  attacks  Narvaez  in  the  night — Description  of  the  battle  ;  defeat  of  Narvaez — The  effects 
of  this  victory — Offers  to  send  his  adversaries  back  to  Cuba,  or  to  take  them  into  his  service  as  partners 
of  his  fortune,  on  equal  terms — This  latter  proposition  accepted  by  almost  all 514 


xxxvill  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    LIX. 

IMPOLITIC    MEASURES    OF    ALVARADO    PRODUCE    A    CRISIS    IN    THE     CITY    OF    MEXICO RETURN    OF 

CORTES,    WHO    FINDS    HIMSELF    BESIEGED    IN    HIS    OWN   QUARTERS    SHORTLY  AFTERWARDS 

DEATH    OF    MONTEZUMA,    AND    HORRIBLE    BUTCHERY    OF    THE     SPANIARDS 

DURING    THEIR    RETREAT    FROM    THE    CITY THE    "  NOCHE    TRISTE." 

Cortes  hears  of  the  revolt  of  the  Mexicans,  and  the  destruction  of  the  brigantines — Alvarado  attacked  in  his 
own  quarters,  and  though  defending  himself  heroically,  must  soon  succumb  to  fatigue  and  famine — Rea- 
sons for  the  sudden  change  of  the  attitude  of  the  Mexicans — Alvarado  employs  neither  address  nor  states- 
manship to  disconcert  the  machmations  of  the  Mexicans — Butchers  their  principal  persons  while  unsus- 
piciously engaged  in  one  of  their  religious  dances — Cortes  sets  out  with  all  his  forces  to  the  relief  of  the 
besieged — Is  received  with  open  arms  by  Alvarado — The  united  forces  which  he  now  commands,  appear 
to  him  so  irresistible,  that  he  assumes  a  higher  tone,  and  lays  aside  the  mask  of  moderation — The  Mexicans, 
convinced  that  his  original  purpose  in  visiting  their  country  was  the  conquest  of  the  same,  renew  their 
hostilities  with  violence  and  fury — The  Spaniards  attacked  in  the  great  market  square,  and  many  of  them 
slain — With  impetuous  assault  they  renew  their  attacks  next  morning — Distress  of  the  Spaniards — Cortes 
attacks  them  without  success — Cortes  satisfied,  that  he  had  been  betrayed  by  his  own  contempt  of  the 
Mexicans  into  a  fatal  error,  and  that  he  cannot  maintain  his  present  situation  any  longer — Tries  what 
effect  the  interposition  of  Montezuma  might  have  to  soothe  or  overawe  his  subjects — The  unfortunate 
prince  wounded  on  the  battlements  by  his  own  soldiers — He  dies  within  a  few  days — His  last  acts  and 
reflections — New  conflicts  engage  the  Spaniards — The  Mexicans  assail  them  from  the  top  of  a  high  tower 
in  the  great  temple — Ineffectual  attempt  of  Juan  de  Escobar  to  dislodge  them — The  wounded  Cortes 
comes  to  his  rescue,  and  they  dislodge  the  Mexicans  from  their  stronghold — Hairbreadth  escape  of  Cor- 
tes— The  Mexicans  change  their  tactics,  and  attempt  to  starve  an  enemy,  whom  they  can  not  subdue— 
Cortes  decides  to  abandon  the  city — Decides  to  retire  secretly  in  the  night — Divides  his  army  into  three 
divisions,  himself  taking  the  central — A  portable  bridge  of  timber  intended  to  be  laid  over  the  breaches 
in  the  causeway,  their  main  reliance  of  success — At  midnight,  July  i,  1520,  they  move  out  of  their  quarters 
in  profound  silence,  and  reach  the  first  breach  without  molestation — The  Mexicans,  though  unperceived, 
watch  all  their  motions  with  attention,  and  make  proper  disposition  for  a  formidable  attack — The  great 
drum  on  the  top  of  the  Teocalli  sends  forth  its  deep  intonations,  and  the  Spaniards  find  themselves 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  a  torrent  of  infuriated  human  beings — Details  of  the  butchery  in  that  most 
memorable  night — Cortes  with  his  shattered  forces  arrives  at  Tacuba — His  losses      .         .         .         .         -527 

CHAPTER  LX. 

RETREAT    AND    BATTLE    OF   OTUMBA RECEPTION    OF   THE   SPANIARDS  IN   TLASCALA — MUTINOUS 

SPIRIT    OF    THE    TROOPS    AND    MEANS    EMPLOYED   BY   CORTES    TO    REVIVE    THEIR    CONFI- 
DENCE— STRENGTHENED    BY    SEVERAL    REINFORCEMENTS,    HE  AGAIN    MARCHES 
AGAINST    THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO.       [1520.] 

Cortes  takes  possession  of  a  temple  standing  on  high  ground  near  Tacuba,  where  he  not  only  finds  shelter 
from  the  assaults  of  his  enemies,  but  also  some  provisions  for  his  famished  men — Consults  with  his  offi- 
cers as  to  the  best  route  he  should  take  to  reach  the  friendly  Tlascalans — Under  the  guidance  of  a  Tlas- 
calan  soldier,  they  set  out,  continually  harassed  by  assaults  on  their  flanks  and  rear,  and  reduced  to 
feed  on  berries  in  the  barren  country — On  the  sixth  day  they  reach  an  eminence  overlooking  the  plain 
of  Otumba,  and  are  awestruck  to  find  an  immense  army  of  Mexicans  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  ready  to 
oppose  and  annihilate  them — Cortes,  without  allowing  leisure  for  their  fears  to  acquire  strength  by  reflec- 
tion, leads  them  instantly  to  the  charge — The  Spaniards,  though  successful  in  every  attack  they  make, 
find  continually  new  battalions  arriving,  and  see  no  end  to  their  toil,  or  any  hope  of  victory — Cortes 
observing  the  great  standard  of  the  empire  carried  in  front  of  the  Mexican  general  by  a  host  of  nobles, 
and  recollecting  that  on  the  fate  of  it  depended  the  event  of  every  battle,  gathers  a  few  officers  about 
him,  and  pushes  forward  with  an  impetuosity  which  brings  down  everything  before  him — Captures  the 
standard,  and  a  universal  panic  strikes  the  Mexicans ;  every  ensign  is  lowered,  the  soldiers  throw  away 
their  weapons,  and  fly  with  precipitation  to  the  mountains — The  Tlascalans,  far  from  taking  any  advan- 
tage of  his  distressing  situation,  receive  him  with  cordiality,  and  all  his  suspicions  are  quickly  dissipated — 
The  news  of  the  sad  fate  of  other  Spanish  parties  in  Mexico  reaches  him  here — New  deliberations  of  Cor- 


CONTENTS.  XXXIX 

tes — Depending  upon  the  implacable  hatred  of  the  Tlascalans  towards  the  Mexicans,  and  his  first  allies 
the  Cempoalans,  he  courts  their  chiefs  with  such  attention  that  he  is  assured  of  everything  he  may- 
require — Orders  timber  to  be  cut  in  the  mountains  to  build  new  brigantines  with  on  Lake  Tenochtitlan — 
Dispatches  four  ships  to  Jamaica  to  recruit  volunteers,  and  buy  contraband  of  war — An  obstacle  arises 
in  a  quarter  from  where  he  least  expects  it — Mutinous  spirit  of  the  troops — Means  employed  by  him  to 
revive  their  confidence — That  the  malcontents  might  have  no  leisure  to  brood  over  their  disaffection,  he 
calls  forth  his  troops  into  action,  and  personally  taking  the  lead,  chastises  the  Tepeacans  for  outrages 
committed  by  them — During  several  months,  while  waiting  for  reinforcements,  keeps  his  troops  con- 
stantly employed — Strengthened  by  several  new  arrivals  from  Cuba,  Jamaica  and  Spain,  whom  he 
seduces  from  the  masters  they  were  bound  to  serve,  he  dismisses  such  of  Narvaez'  soldiers  as  remain 
with  reluctance,  and  advances  at  the  head  of  10,000  Tlascalans,  550  infantry,  forty  horsemen,  and  nine 
field-pieces,  towards  Mexico 542 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

PREPARATIONS    OF    THE    MEXICANS    FOR    THEIR    DEFENCE CORTES'    SLOW    AND    CAUTIOUS    OPERA- 
TIONS   IN    INVESTING   THE    CITY LAUNCH    OF    THE    BRIGANTINES — GUATEMOTZIN'S 

HEROIC   DEFENCE   OF   THE    PALLADIUM    OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

Quetlavaca,  brother  of  Montezuma,  elected  emperor — He  repairs  what  the  Spaniards  have  ruined  in  the  city, 
and  strengthens  it  with  new  fortifications — Fills  the  magazines  with  provisions  and  weapons  of  war — 
Summons  his  subjects  everywhere  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Spaniards,  offering  in  return  exemption 
from  all  taxes — Endeavors  to  persuade  the  Tlascalans  to  renounce  all  connections  with  them — Sudden 
death  of  Quetlavaca,  and  ascension  of  young  Guatemotzin,  a  true  hero,  to  the  throne  of  the  Monte- 
zumas — Cortes  forces  his  way  through  to  the  city  of  Tezcuco,  20  miles  from  the  capital — Deposes  the 
cacique,  and  substitutes  in  his  place  a  person  whom  a  faction  of  nobles  pointed  out  as  the  real  heir  to 
that  dignity — Begins  the  tedious  work  of  constructing  the  brigantines,  while  a  part  of  his  army  reduce 
the  neighboring  towns  to  submisssion  to  the  crown  of  Spain — Having  observed  symptoms  of  disaffec- 
tion among  many  of  the  neighboring  states  with  Mexican  rule,  he  offers  to  deliver  them  from  their 
odious  dominion  if  they  would  unite  with  him — Gradually  acquires  new  allies,  and  circumscribes  the 
Mexican  powerin  such  manner,  that  his  prospects  for  overturning  it  seem  neither  uncertain  nor  remote — 
A  conspiracy  to  assassinate  him  is  discovered,  and  the  ringleader  summarily  hanged — His  artful  decla- 
ration of  his  ignorance  who  the  conspirators  are,  restores  tranquillity —Orders  a  body  of  Spaniards  to 
conduct  the  material  for  the  building  of  the  brigantines,  to  repair  to  Tlascala — Sandoval's  successful  ac- 
complishment of  this  singular  and  important  mission — Receives  new  reinforcements  from  Hispaniola — 
Digs  a  canal  two  miles  long  to  facilitate  the  launching  of  the  brigantines,  and  with  extraordinary  mili- 
tary pomp,  and  the  celebration  of  the  most  sacred  rites  of  religion,  successfully  launches  them — Dis- 
positions of  his  army  for  the  siege — Alvarado  breaks  down  the  aqueduct  which  conveys  fresh  water  to 
the  city  of  Mexico — Mexicans  attack  the  brigantines,  but  are  signally  repulsed,  leaving  Cortes  master 
of  the  lake — Singular  plan  of  conducting  the  siege — On  land,  on  water,  by  night  and  by  day,  one  furi- 
ous conflict  succeeds  another,  nearly  all  ready  to  sink  under  the  toils  of  unintermitting  service — Cortes 
endeavors  to  take  the  city  by  storm — The  Spaniards  push  forward  with  irresistible  impetuosity  ;  break 
through  one  barricade  after  another ;  force  their  way  over  ditches  and  canals,  and  enter  the  city — 
Guatemotzin,  discerning  the  consequence  of  an  error  Cortes  commits,  orders  the  great  drum  consecrated 
to  the  god  of  war  to  sound,  and. the  Spaniards  find  themselves  surrounded  on  all  sides — Cortes  manages 
to  extricate  himself  with  a  loss  of  about  60  men,  but  what  renders  the  disaster  more  afflicting,  40  of 
these  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  an  enemy  never  known  to  show  mercy  to  a  captive — New  schemes 
and  efforts  of  the  Mexicans — Cortes  deserted  by  many  of  his  Indian  allies         ......   550 

CHAPTER   LXII. 

CORTES    ADOPTS    A    NEW    SYSTEM    OF    ATTACK — COURAGE    AND    CONSTANCY    OF    THE    NOBLE 

GUATEMOTZIN — THE    SURRENDER    OF   THE   CITY NEW    SCHEMES    OF    DISCOVERY 

FORMED    BY    CORTES THE    DISCOVERIES    OF   FERDINAND    MAGELLAN. 

The  oracles  of  the  Mexican  priests  failing  to  turn  out  true,  reassures  the  allies  of  Cortes,  and  he  regains 
their  support — He  pushes  his  way  forward  over  the  causeway,  which  his  Indian  allies  repair,  and  razes 


xl  CONTENTS. 

every  building  within  the  territory  occupied  by  him,  to  the  ground — The  Mexicans  forced  to  retire  as 
their  enemies  gain  entry  ;  are  hemmed  in  within  narrow  limits — The  brigantines  prevent  any  supplies  of 
food  or  water  to  be  conveyed  to  the  besieged,  and  the  courageous  Guatemotzin's  stores  are  exhausted — 
With  obstinate  resolution  he  defends  every  inch  of  ground,  and  though  his  people  are  suffering  from 
infectious  and  mortal  distempers,  added  to  the  horrors  of  a  famine,  his  spirit  remains  firm  and 'unsub- 
dued— Rejects  every  overture  of  peace  with  scorn,  disdaining  to  submit  to  the  oppressors  of  his  coun- 
try— The  Spaniards  continue  to  advance,  and  at  last  all  three  divisions  meet  in  the  great  square — The 
Mexican  nobles  prevail  on  Guatemotzin  to  retire  from  a  place  where  resistance  is  in  vain,  and  he  per- 
mits himself  to  be  taken  into  a  canoe,  accompanied  by  the  empress,  to  be  rowed  across  the  lake — ■ 
Sandoval  succeeds  in  overtaking  him  and  brings  the  emperor  before  Cortes — "  I  have  done  what  became 
a  monarch,  nothing  now  remains  but  to  die;  take  this  dagger,"  pointing  to  one  which  Cortes  wears, 
"  plant  it  in  my  breast  and  put  an  end  to  a  life  which  can  no  longer  be  of  use  " — The  fate  of  the  daunt- 
less emperor  becoming  known,  the  city  surrenders — The  fall  of  the  empire  due  to  internal  causes,  and 
not  to  the  merit  and  ability  of  Cortes  alone — The  victors  find  but  little  treasure,  and  suspect  it  to  have 
been  buried  by  order  of  Guatemotzin  ;  Cortes  orders  the  unhappy  monarch  put  to  the  torture,  together 
with  his  chief  favorite — The  latter,  overcome  by  the  violence  of  the  anguish,  implores  Guatemotzin's 
permission  to  reveal  all  he  knows — "  Am  I  now  reposing  on  a  bed  of  flowers  ?  "  answers  the  emperor  ; 
the  favorite  preserves  a  dutiful  silence,  and  expires — Cortes  ashamed,  rescues  the  royal  victim,  pro- 
longing a  life  reserved  for  new  indignities  and  sufferings — All  the  provinces  of  the  empire  submit — 
Cortes  forms  new  schemes  of  discovery,  which  are  anticipated  and  completed  by  Magellan     .         .         .   564 

CHAPTER  LXIII. 

AN    ORDER    TO    SUPERSEDE   CORTES,   WHICH    HE    ELUDES,    ARRIVES    FROM    SPAIN- — -HE    DISPATCHES 
DEPUTIES,     WHO     SUCCEED     IN     HAVING     HIM    APPOINTED    CAPTAIN-GENERAL    AND     GOV- 
ERNOR   OF  NEW  SPAIN — INSURRECTION  OF  THE  MEXICANS POVERTY  OF    THE 

CONQUERORS CORTES     RETURNS   TO    SPAIN,     FORMS    NEW    SCHEMES 

OF    DISCOVERY HIS    DEATH. 

Bishop  Fonseca  declares  Cortes  an  usurper,  and  appoints  Christoval  de  Tapia  to  supersede  him — He  lands 
at  Vera  Cruz — Neither  his  talents  nor  his  reputation  suited  for  the  high  command  to  which  he  is  ap- 
pointed— Cortes  succeeds  in  defeating  the  effect  of  his  commission,  and  Tapia  abandons  the  province — 
Cortes  sends  a  deputation  with  rich  presents  to  the  emperor — They  succeed  by  representing  his  achieve- 
ments in  the  most  glorious  colors,  and  backed  by  public  sentiment  in  having  his  actions  approved,  and 
Charles  V.,  adopting  the  sentiments  of  his  subjects  with  youthful  ardor,  appoints  him  Captain-General 
and  Governor — Cortes  rebuilds  Mexico,  employs  skillful  persons  to  hunt  for  mines,  detaches  his  prin- 
cipal officers  to  remote  provinces,  inducing  them  to  settle  there;  and  granting  them  large  tracts  of  land, 
and  dominion  over  the  Indians — They  violate  every  right  that  is  held  sacred  by  hostile  nations,  and  the 
Indians  rebel — Ignominious  and  excruciating  modes  of  execution,  which  the  insolence  or  the  cruelty  of 
the  conqueror  can  devise,  soon  reduce  them  to  submission — On  slight  suspicion  that  Guatemotzin  has 
formed  a  scheme  to  shake  oft"  their  yoke,  without  the  formality  of  a  trial,  he  is  ordered  hanged  in  company 
with  two  persons  of  greatest  eminence  in  the  empire — The  washing  of  earth  which  carries  the  precious 
golden  grains  the  first  object  of  industry  among  the  conquerors — The  commissioners  appointed  to  re- 
ceive and  administer  the  royal  revenue,  represent  Cortes  as  an  ambitious  tyrant,  aspiring  to  independ- 
ence, and  likely  to  succeed  by  reason  of  his  enormous  wealth  and  influence — Unmindful  of  his  services, 
Charles  appoints  the  licentiate  Ponce  de  Leon  with  the  commission  to  seize  h'is  person,  and  send  him 
prisoner  to  Spain — The  commissioner  dies  a  few  days  after  his  arrival,  and  though  a  new  commission 
of  inquiry  is  issued,  Cortes  decides  not  to  await  their  arrival,  and  repairs  to  Spain — Cortes  appears  in  his 
native  country  with  the  splendor  suiting  the  conqueror  of  a  mighty  kingdom — Received  by  Charles 
with  highest  marks  of  distinction  and  respect — Charles,  though,  too  sagacious  to  entrust  the  man  whom 
he  had  once  suspicioned  with  powers  which  might  be  impossible  to  control — Cortes  returns  to  Mexico 
with  diminished  authority — -The  division  of  power  engenders  perpetual  dissensions,  and  Cortes  forms 
new  schemes  of  discovery — Fits  out  various  unsuccessful  expeditions — Takes  the  command  of  a  new 
armament  in  person,  and  after  enduring  incredible  hardships,  discovers  the  peninsula  of  California — ■ 
Disgusted  with  ill-success,  he  once  more  seeks  for  redress  in  his  native  country — The  emperor  behaves 


CONTENTS.  xli 

to  him  with  cold  civility,  his  grievances  receive  no  redress,  and  after  spending  several  years  in  irksome 
and  fruitless  applications,  Cortes  ends  his  days  on  the  2d  of  December,  1547,  admired  by  succeeding 
ages 579 


Book  III. — The  Conquest  of  Peru. 

CHAPTER    LXIV. 

VASCO    NUNEZ    DE    BALBOA    DISCOVERS   THE    SOUTH    SEA RECEIVES    INFORMATION    CONCERNING    A 

MORE    OPULENT    COUNTRY DISSENSIONS    BETWEEN    PEDRARIAS    AND    BALBOA    END 

IN    THE    PUBLIC   EXECUTION    OF    A    MAN    UNIVERSALLY   BELOVED. 

Ferdinand  erects  two  governments  on  the  continent  of  America  extending  from  Cape  de  Vela  to  Cape 
Gracios  a  Dios — Nicuessa  given  the-  latter,  Ojeda  the  former — A  feeble  remnant  of  colonists  at  Santa 
Maria  el  Antigua  placed  under  the  command  of  Balboa,  who  raise  him  by  their  voluntary  suffrage  to 
the  dignity  of  governor — Extremely  desirous  to  obtain  from  the  crown  a  confirmation  of  his  election, 
aims  at  performing  some  signal  service — A  young  cacique  offers  to  take  him  to  a  country,  where  the 
meanest  vessels  are  made  of  gold — Informed  of  the  existence  of  another  ocean,  and  concludes  it  to  be 
the  one  Columbus  had  searched  for  in  vain — Makes  preparations  to  gather  re-inforcements,  and  courts 
the  friendship  of  neighboring  caciques — Description  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien — Starts  out  at  the  head 
of  190  hardy  veterans,  and  is  retarded  by  the  nature  of  the  territory,  and  the  disposition  of  its  inhabi- 
tants— Has  innumerable  encounters  with  them,  suffers  from  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  the  ravages  of 
dysentery,  and  other  diseases  frequent  in  that  country — When  nearly  ready  to  sink  under  such  uninter- 
rupted fatigues,  beholds  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  which  they  are  ascending,  the  South  Sea  stretch- 
ing in  endless  prospect  before  him — Balboa,  upon  reaching  its  shores,  advances  up  to  the  middle  into 
the  waves,  and  with  buckler  and  sword  takes  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  his  king  and  master — All 
the  people  on  that  coast  concur  in  informing  him  that  a  mighty  and  opulent  country  lies  to  the  south — 
His  prudence  restrains  him  from  invading  it  with  a  handful  of  men — He  returns  to  Santa  Maria  by  an- 
other route,  and  with  more  treasure  than  the  Spaniards  had  acquired  in  any  expedition  before  in  the 
New  World — Sends  information  to  Spain,  and  asks  for  an  re-inforcement  of  1,000  men,  to  attempt  the 
conquest  of  Peru — The  fatal  antipathy  of  Fonseca  to  every  man  of  merit  becomes  conspicuous — Pedra- 
rias  Davila  appointed  governor — Reaches  Darien  at  the  head  of  1,500  men,  and  though  Balboa's  vet- 
erans murmur  loudly  at  the  injustice  of  the  king,  Balboa  submits  with  implicit  obedience  to  his  will — 
Pedrarias  appoints  a  judicial  inquiry  to  be  made  into  Balboa's  conduct,  and  imposes  a  fine  upon  him  for 
alleged  irregularities — Is  jealous  of  his  superior  merit — The  situation  of  the  village  of  Santa  Maria  en- 
vironed with  marshes  and  woods,  peculiarly  unhealthy,  and  violent  and  destructive  maladies  carry  off 
many  of  his  followers — A  great  many  return  to  Spain  ;  others,  to  divert  them  from  brooding  over  their 
misfortunes,  he  sends  into  the  interior  to  levy  gold  among  the  natives — Their  tyranny,  rapacity,  and  in- 
considerate demands  desolate  the  country — Balboa,  seeing  his  favorite  scheme  retarded  by  such  ill- 
judged  proceedings,  sends  remonstrances  to  Spain — Pedrarias  accuses  him  of  having  deceived  the  king 
by  false  representations  of  the  opulence  of  the  country — Ferdinand,  sensible  of  his  imprudence  in  super- 
seding Balboa,  appoints  him  Adelantado  of  the  South  Sea — Pedrarias  continues  to  treat  his  rival  with 
neglect,  but  a  reconciliation  is  effected  by  the  bishop  of  Darien,  and  in  order  to  cement  the  union  more 
firmly,  Pedrarias  gives  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  him- — Balboa  builds  vessels  to  convey  his  troops  to  the 
provinces  he  intends  to  invade — Hatred,  fear,  and  jealousy  operate  on  the  mind  of  Pedrarias,  and  under 
plausible  but  false  pretexts,  he  requests  Balboa  to  repair  to  Acla — Upon  his  arrival  there  is  tried  for  ' 
disloyalty  to  the  king,  and  intention  to  revolt  against  the  governor — Sentence  of  death  is  pronounced, 
and  though  the  whole  colony  intercede  for  him,  Pedrarias  refuses  to  pardon  him — Is  executed  1517 — 
Pedrarias  removes  the  colony  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  isthmus       ......  595 

f3) 


xlii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

SCHEMES    FOR    THE    DISCOVERY    OF    PERU    UNSUCCESSFUL    FOR  SOME   TIME THE    ENTERPRISE    AT 

LAST    UNDERTAKEN    EY    PIZARRO,    ALMAGRO,   AND    LUQUE.       [1524.] 

Ever  since  the  discovery  of  the  great  South  Sea,  the  wishes  and  schemes  of  every  enterprising  person  in 
Darien  turns  towards  the  wealth  of  the  south-easterly  regions — Several  armaments  are  fitted  out  to 
explore  the  countries  to  the  east  of  Panama,  but  uniform  ill  success  accompanies  all  these  excursions, 
and  dampens  the  ardor  of  the  most  enthusiastic — The  circumstances  which  deter  others,  make  little,  if 
any,  impression  on  Pizarro,  Almagro  and  Luque,  three  extraordinary  men,  residents  of  Panama — Char- 
acter of  the  men  destined  to  overturn  the  most  extensive  empires  on  the  face  of  the  earth — Pizarro,  the 
least  wealthy  of  the  three,  engages  to  take  the  department  of  greatest  fatigue  and  danger ;  Almagro 
offers  to  conduct  the  supplies  of  provisions,  and  reinforcement  of  troops,  while  Luque  remains  behind  to 
superintend  whatever  was  carrying  on  for  the  general  welfare — The  terms  of  their  association  confirmed 
by  the  most  solemn  act  of  religion,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  they  ratify  a  contract  of  which 
plunder  and  bloodshed  are  the  objects — Their  first  attempt  in  a  single  vessel  of  small  burden  undertaken 
at  a  very  unpropitious  time — The  vessel  beats  about  for  seventy  days  along  the  coast  of  a  very  uninviting 
country,  and  Pizarro  is  at  last  compelled  hy  fatigue,  famine,  and  the  frequent  encounters  with  fierce  and 
hostile  natives,  to  return  to  Chuchama,  opposite  the  Pearl  Islands,  for  reinforcements — Expects  to  fall  in 
there  with  Almagro,  but  that  dauntless  knight,  in  hopes  of  meeting  him  further  south,  proceeds  as  far  as 
the  province  of  Popayan — Almagro  searches  for  his  companions,  undergoes  the  same  hardships,  and  is 
at  last  led  by  chance  to  Pizarro's  retreat — They  determine  to  resume  the  undertaking,  notwithstanding 
all  that  they  had  suffered — Almagro  repairs  to  Panama,  and  meets  with  great  difficulty  in  levying  four- 
score men — Joins  Pizarro,  and  after  a  long  series  of  disasters  and  disappointments,  they  land  at  Tacamez, 
situated  in  a  fertile  and  champaign  country,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  clad  in  garments  of  wool  and 
cotton — They  conclude  it  to  be  unsafe  to  venture  on  the  invasion  of  such  a  populous  district  with  a  hand- 
ful of  men,  and  Almagro  returns  to  Panama  for  reinforcements,  Pizarro  meanwhile  retiring  to  the  Island 
of  Gallo — Almagro  meets  with  an  unfavorable  reception  at  the  hands  of  the  new  governor — Pedro  de  los 
Rios  prohibits  the  raising  of  new  levies,  and  dispatches  a  vessel  to  the  Island  of  Gallo  to  bring  back 
Pizarro  and  his  companions — He  peremptorily  refuses  to  obey  the  summons,  and  employs  all  his  address 
and  eloquence  in  persuading  his  men  not  to  abandon  him — Pizarro  draws  a  line  with  his  sword  in  the 
sand,  and  calls  upon  all  who  wish  to  gain  glory  and  immortal  renown  to  step  over  it  and  abide  with 
him — But  thirteen  daring  veterans  have  the  resolution  to  remain  with  their  commander — This  small  but 
determined  band,  to  whose  persevering  fortitude  Spain  was  indebted  for  its  most  valuable  possessions,  fix 
their  residence  on  the  Island  of  Gorgona — Almagro's  and  Luque's  incessant  importunities,  seconded  by 
the  general  voice  of  the  colony,  prevail  at  last  with  the  Governor,  and  he  consents  to  send  a  small  vessel 
to  Pizarro's  relief — Worn  out  with  fruitless  expectations,  dispirited  with  hardships,  of  which  he  sees  no 
end,  he  is  on  the  point  of  committing  himself  to  the  ocean  on  a  float,  when  the  vessel  from  Panama 
arrives — Extreme  dejection  is  succeeded  by  high  confidence — He  induces  the  crew  of  the  vessel  to  resume 
his  former  scneme,  and  after  sailing  twenty  days  in  a  south-easterly  direction,  lands  at  Tumbez,  a  place 
distinguished  for  its  stately  temples,  and  a  palace  of  the  Incas — The  country  fully  peopled,  and  cultivated 
with  regular  industry  ;  the  natives  decently  clothed,  possessed  of  great  ingenuity,  and  having  the  use  of 
tame  domestic  animals — The  show  of  gold  and  silver  everywhere  such  as  leaves  no  doubts,  that  the  pre- 
cious metals  abound  in  profusion — Pizarro  ranges  for  some  time  along  the  coast,  maintaining  everywhere 
peaceable  intercourse  with  the  people — Having  explored  the  country  sufficient  to  ascertain  the  impor- 
tance of  his  discovery,  and  inducing  two  natives  to  accompany  him  back  to  serve  as  interpreters  in  the 
future,  he  returns  to  Panama  at  the  end  of  the  third  year  from  the  time  of  his  departure — New  schemes 
of  the  associates — The  Governor  adheres  to  his  resolution  not  to  permit  any  recruitirtg  in  his  feeble  col- 
ony— Perceiving  the  necessity  that  their  schemes  should  have  the  countenance  of  superior  authority,  they 
decide  upon  sending  Pizarro  to  Spain  to  negotiate — He  appears  before  the  Emperor  with  unembarrassed 
dignity,  conscious  of  the  merit  of  his  services — Describes  his  sufferings,  gives  a  pompous  account  of  the 
country  he  discovered,  and  makes  such  an  impression  on  Charles  and  his  ministers  that  they  approve  of 
the  intended  expedition,  and  become  interested  in  its  success — Pizarro  neglects  his  associates,  and  pro- 
cures the  supreme  command  for  himself — His  funds  and  credit  so  low,  the  force  he  is  able  to  raise  so 
slender,  that  in  order  to  elude  the  scrutiny  of  the  officers  charged  to  examine  whether  he  has  fulfilled  the 
stipulations  of  his  contract  with  the  crown,  he  is  compelled  to  steal  out  of  the  harbor  of  Seville — Before 


CONTENTS.  xliii 

his  departure  he  receives  some  supply  of  money  from  his  old  comrade  in  arms,  Cortes — Lands  at  Nom- 
bre  de  Dios,  and,  accompanied  by  his  three  brothers,  marches  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama — Almagro, 
exasperated  by  his  perfidy  in  excluding  him,  both  from  power  and  honor,  labors  to  form  a  new  associa- 
tion—  Pizarro  relinquishes  the  office  of  Adelantado,  and  mitigates  the  rage  of  the  open-hearted  soldier, 
and  a  reconciliation  is  effected '  608 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

THE    STATE    OF    THE    PERUVIAN    EMPIRE    AT    THAT    TIME    FAVORABLE    TO    THE    INVADKRS- 

PIZARRO    AVAILS    HIMSELF    OF    IT,  AND    ADVANCES    INTO    THE  HEART    OF 

THE    COUNTRV — TAKES    THE    INCA    PRISONER. 

The  expedition  sails  in  three  small  ships,  leaving  Almagro  behind  to  follow  with  reinforcements — Pizarro 
lands  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Matthew  with  a  force  of  180  men,  thirty-six  of  whom  are  horsemen  ;  abandons 
his  vessels  here,  and  makes  his  way  along  the  shore,  beset  by  all  kinds  of  calamities,  and  under  the 
most  trying  hardships,  to  the  province  of  Coaque — Surprises  the  principal  settlement  of  the  natives,  seiz- 
ing golden  vessels  and  ornaments  to  the  amount  of  30,000  pesos — Dispatches  two  of  his  vessels  back  to 
Panama  and  Nicaragua  with  considerable  sums  to  persons  of  influence  there,  in  hopes  of  alluring  advent- 
urers— Continues  his  march  along  the  coast,  ravaging  the  country,  and  meeting  with  hardly  any  resist- 
ance from  the  frightened  inhabitants,  until  he  reaches  the  Island  of  Puna — The  inhabitants,  fiercer  and 
less  civilized  than  those  on  the  continent,  defend  themselves  with  obstinate  valor,  and  Pizarro  spends 
six  months  in  subduing  them — The  fame  of  his  success  at  Coaque  brings  two  detachments  from  Nicara- 
gua, under  the  command  of  Sebastian  Benalcazar  and  Hernando  de  Soto — Proceeds  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Piura  and  establishes  the  first  colony,  to  which  he  gives  the  name  of  St.  Michael — State  of  the 
empire  at  the  time  of  the  invasion — Extends  1500  miles  along  the  Pacific  Ocean,  its  breadth  from  east  to 
west  considerably  less — Originally  possessed  by  small  tribes  of  a  very  low  civilization,  roaming  about 
naked  in  the  forests — Tradition  tells  of  a  man  and  woman  appearing  near  Lake  Titicaca,  of  majestic 
form,  and  decently  clothed — They  declare  themselves  children  of  the  sun,  sent  by  their  beneficent  parent 
to  instruct  and  reclaim  mankind — Obtaining  proselytes,  they  repair  to  Cuzco  and  lay  the  foundation  of  a 
city — Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Ocollo  instruct  the  men  in  agriculture,  and  the  women  in  spinning  and 
weaving — Introduce  such  laws  and  policy  as  will  perpetuate  their  happiness — Found  the  empire  of  Incas— 
The  Incas  revered  as  divinities — Appear  with  ensigns  of  royalty  reserved  for  them  alone — They  extend 
their  dominions,  not  prompted  thereto  by  the  rage  of  conquest,  but  to  diffuse  the  blessings  of  civiliza- 
tion— The.  twelve  monarchs  succeeding  Manco  Capac  all  of  this  beneficent  character — Huana  Capac 
seated  on  the  throne  when  the  Spaniards  first  visit  Peru — He  subjects  the  kingdom  of  Quito,  and  marries 
the  daughter  of  the  vanquished  monarch — She  bears  him  a  son,  Atahualpa,  whom  he  appoints  as  his  suc- 
cessor to  the  government  of  Quito,  leaving  the  rest  of  his  empire  to  Huascar,  by  a  mother  of  the  royal 
race  of  Peru — The  destination  concerning  the  succession,  repugnant  to  the  people  of  Cuzco — Huascar, 
encouraged  by  their  sentiments,  requires  his  brother  to  acknowledge  him  as  his  lawful  superior — Atahu- 
alpa eludes  his  brother's  demands — Marches  in  hostile  array  against  him — Civil  war  breaks  out ;  Atahu- 
alpa victorious — Conscious  of  the  defect  of  his  title,  exterminates  the  royal  race,  making  Huascar  pris- 
oner— The  civil  war  raging  in  its  greatest  fury  at  the  time  of  the  landing  of  Pizarro — The  two  competitors 
too  much  engrossed  in  their  own  operations  to  heed  him — Pizzaro  receives  messengers  from  Huascar, 
who  solicits  his  aid — He  clearly  foresees  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  this  intestine  discord,  and 
decides  to  take  part  as  circumstances  should  incline  him — Makes  cautious  disposition  of  his  men  and 
stores,  and  starts  towards  Caxamalca,  where  Atahualpa  is  encamped  with  a  considerable  body  of  troops — 
Is  met  by  messengers  from  the  Inca,  accompanied  by  valuable  presents,  a  proffer  of  alliance,  and  assured 
of  a  friendly  reception — Pizarro  firetends  to  be  the  ambassador  of  a  powerful  monarch,  who  sends  him  to 
aid  Atahualpa  against  the  enemies  who  dispute  his  title  to  the  throne — Ideas  of  the  Peruvians  concerning 
Pizarro's  designs — Pizarro's  declaration  of  his  pacific  intentions  removes  the  fears  of  the  Inca — He  allows 
the  Spaniards  to  march  in  tranquillity — Pizarro  dispatches  an  Indian  ambassador  to  the  camp  of  the  Inca 
with  instructions  to  note  the  condition  of  the  road — Begins  the  ascent  of  the  stupendous  Andes,  a  natural 
rampart,  containing  a  labyrinth  of  passes,  easily  capable  of  defence  by  a  handful  of  men — Induces  his 
men  by  a  frank  and  manly  eloquence  to  choose  the  narrow  path  of  the  Sierras,  practicable  only  for  the 
half-naked  Indian,  to  Caxamalca — The  cavalry  obliged  to  dismount  and  scramble  up  the  rugged  and 
precipitous  paths  of  the  mountain,  leading  their  horses  by  the  bridles — Huge  crags  or  eminences  over- 


xliv  CONTENTS. 

hang  the  road — The  narrow  ledge  of  rock  scarcely  wide  enough  for  a  single  steed — Tremendous  fissures 
yawn  open,  as  if  the  Andes  had  been  split  asunder  by  some  wild  convulsion — He  passes  two  deserted 
forts,  and  after  suffering  for  days  from  the  exposure  to  the  cold  and  chilly  blasts,  reaches  the  crest  of  the 
Cordillera— An  Indian  embassy  arrives  from  the  Inca  with  welcome  presents  of  Harms — They  inform 
Pizarro  that  the  road  is  free  from  enemies — For  two  days  in  succession  his  troops  thread  the  airy  defiles — 
Are  visited  by  another  embassy,  who  make  plausible  explanations  for  the  discourteous  treatment  received 
bv  Pizarro's  Indian  emissary — Continues  his  descent  attended  with  difficulties  almost  equal  to  those  of 
the  upward  march — Arrives  on  the  seventh  day  in  view  of  the  valley  of  Caxamalca — Takes  possession  of 
a  large  court  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  earth — Posts  his  troops  in  advantageous  positions,  and  sends  his 
brother  and  Hernando  de  Soto  to  the  camp  of  Atahualpa — Atahualpa  invited  to  visit  the  Spanish  quar- 
ters, and  promises  to  do  so — Pizarro  forms  a  plan  as  daring  as  it  is  perfidious — Prepares  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  scheme  with  deliberate  arrangement  and  little  compunction — Next  day  the  whole  plain  is  cov- 
ered with  troops,  bands  of  singers  and  dancers — The  procession  headed  by  the  Inca  seated  on  a  throne, 
adorned  with  plumes,  and  almost  covered  with  plates — When  arrived  in  the  plaza,  Father  Vincent  Yal- 
verde  advances  with  crucifix  in  one  hand,  and  breviary  in  the  other,  and  addresses  the  Inca — He  asks 
him  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith,  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  and  submit  to  the  king 
of  Castile — His  strange  harangue,  lamely  translated  by  the  interpreter,  incomprehensible  to  Atahualpa — 
His  reply — Cannot  conceive  how  a  foreign  priest  can  dispossess  him  of  his  territories,  nor  inclined  to  for- 
sake the  religion  of  his  ancestors — Desires  to  know  the  source  where  Valverde  has  learned  things  so 
extraordinary — The  'priest  hands  him  the  breviary ;  he  puts  it  to  his  ear,  listens,  and  throws  it  down  dis- 
dainfully :  "This  is  silent;  it  tells  me  nothing" — The  enraged  monk  calls  upon  the  Spaniards  to  revenge 
the  insult  to  the  word  of  God — Pizarro  suddenly  sallies  forth  with  his  concealed  troops — A  general  mas- 
sacre follows — By  previous  concert  the  Inca's  life  is  spared — Is  taken  prisoner  ......    522 

CHAPTER    LXVII. 

THE    DEJECTED    EMPEROR    OFFERS    A    RANSOM    COMMENSURATE    TO    THE    OPULENCE    OF    HIS 

DOMINIONS ARRIVAL    OF    ALMAGEO — DEATH    OF    HUASCAR    AND    EXECUTION    OF 

THE    INCA — DISSOLUTION    OF    GOVERNMENT    AND    ORDER    IN    PERU. 

The  captive  emperor  begins  to  feel  the  misery  of  his  fate,  and  sinks  into  dejection — Pizarro's  attempts  to  con- 
sole him — Atahualpa  discovers  the  ruling  passion  of  his  captors,  and  offers  as  ransom  to  fill  the  apart- 
ment he  occupies  with  gold — Pizarro  closes  eagerly  with  this  tempting  proposal,  and  Atahualpa  trans- 
ported with  prospect  of  speedy  liberation — The  Inca  instantly  sends  messengers  to  Cuzco,  Quito,  and 
other  places,  where  gold  adorns  the  temples  of  the  gods,  or  the  palaces  of  royalty — The  Indians,  afraid 
of  endangering  the  life  of  the  monarch  by  forming  other  schemes  for  his  relief,  execute  his  orders  with 
the  greatest  alacrity — Almagro  arrives  at  St.  Matthew's  with  the  long  expected  succor — Atahualpa  learns 
that  his  brother  has  offered  a  larger  ransom  to  the  Spaniards  to  espouse  his  cause — Alarmed  lest  thirst 
for  gold  would  tempt  them  to  lend  a  favorable  ear  to  it,  orders  Huascar  executed — Like  all  his  other 
commands,  it  is  attended  to  with  scrupulous  punctuality — A  great  part  of  the  stipulated  ransom  of  Ata- 
hualpa having  arrived,  the  Spaniards  make  a  division  of  the  spoil — Many  of  the  soldiers  receive  a  recom- 
pense far  beyond  their  most  sanguine  hopes,  and  insist  upon  their  dismissal  from  service — Pizarro, 
aware  that  the  display  of  their  riches  would  allure  more  adventurers,  grants  their  suit — The  Inca  de- 
mands his  liberty,  but  Pizarro  has  no  regard  for  his  plighted  faith — Motives  which  induce  Pizarro  to  con- 
sent— Almagro,  his  followers,  and  Philippilo  the  Indian  interpreter,  awaken  by  their  machinations  Pizarro's 
jealousy — -Incite  him  to  cut  him  off — Nobody  attached  to  Atahualpa  but  de  Soto  and  Ferdinand  Pizarro — 
Atahualpa,  finding  Pizarro  to  be  an  uneducated  person,  considers  and  treats  him  as  one  of  mean  de- 
scent— The  pride  of  Pizarro  mortified  at  the  barbarian's  scorn — He  orders  the  Inca  tried  with  alL  the  for- 
malities observed  in  Spanish  criminal  courts — Ludicrous  and  absurd  accusations  the  foundation  of  a  serious 
procedure — Charged  with  being  an  usurper,  idolator,  fratricide — Father  Valverde  prostitutes  the  author- 
ity of  his  sacred  functions,  and  signs  the  death  warrant  the  court  pronounces — Pizarro  orders  his  instant 
execution — The  dread  of  a  cruel  death  extorts  from  the  trembling  victim  the  desire  of  receiving  baptism — 
Is  strangled  at  the  stake — Protest  of  several  Spaniards  against  the  measure  as  repugnant  to  every  maxim 
of  equity  and  a  violation  of  public  faith — The  Peruvian  Government  dissolved — Ambitious  men  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  empire  aspiring  to  independent  authority — The  people  of  Cuzco  acknowledge  Manco 
Capac  as  Inca — Atahualpa's  general  in  Quito,  seizes  the  brothers  and  children  of  his  late  master,  putting 


CONTENTS.  xlv 

them  to  a  cruel  death — Pizarro  advances  to  Cuzco — The  arrival  of  Pizarro's  soldiers  in  Panama  creates 
such  excitement,  that  the  governors  of  Guatemala,  Panama,  and  Nicaragua  can  hardly  restrain  the  peo- 
ple under  their  jurisdiction  from  abandoning  their  possessions,  and  crowding  into  the  New  El  Dorado — 
Pizarro  forces  his  way  to  Cuzco  and  takes  possession  of  the  capital — The  riches  found  there  exceed 
the  ransom  of  Atahualpa — The  latter's  son,  whom  Pizarro  has  treated  as  Inca,  dying,  Manco  Capac  is 
universally  recognized 653 

CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

THE    CONQUEST    OF    QUITO ALVARADO'S    EXPEDITION — ALMAGROS'    INVASION    OF    CHILI. 

Benalcazar  attempts  the  reduction  of  Quito — Surmounts  every  obstacle ;  marches  through  a  mountainous 
country  exposed  to  cold,  famine,  and  fierce  attacks,  and  enters  Quito — Pedro  de  Alvarado,  pretending 
to  believe  that  Quito  does  not  lie  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Pizarro,  resolves  to  invade  it — -Lands  at  Puerto 
Yiejo,  and  marches  by  the  most  impracticable  route  towards  Quito — His  troops  endure  such  fatigue, 
and  suffer  so  much  from  excessive  cold,  that  a  fifth  part  die  and  half  his  horses  perish — Finds  himself 
opposed  by  a  body  of  Spaniards,  but  boldly  advances  to  the  charge — An  accommodation  takes  place, 
and  Alvarado  returns  to  his  government — Landing  of  Ferdinand  Pizarro  in  Spain — Honors  conferred  on 
Pizarro  and  Almagro — Pizarro's  authority  confirmed  with  new  powers  and  privileges — Almagro  obtains 
the  title  of  Adelantado,  with  jurisdiction  over  200  leagues  of  country  beyond  the  southern  limits  of 
Pizarro's  province — Almagro  lays  claim  to  the  city  of  Cuzco — Jealousy  and  discord  ensue,  but  both 
dread  the  consequences  of  open  rupture — Reconciliation  takes  place — Almagro  is  to  attempt  the  con- 
quest of  Chili — Pizarro  introduces  a  form  of  regular  government — His  natural  sagacity  supplies  the  want 
of  both  science  and  experience — Fixes  the  seat  of  government  in  the  valley  of  Rimac,  where  he  founds 
the  city  of  Lima — Almagro,  instead  of  advancing  along  the  level  .country  of  the  coast,  marches  across 
the  mountains — Exposed  to  every  calamity  which  men  can  suffer — The  rigor  of  the  climate  hardly  in- 
ferior to  that  within  the  polar  circle — The  Chilese  hardy,  independent,  resembling  the  warlike  tribes  of 
North  America — Defend  themselves  with  obstinacy — Recalled  to  Peru — Pizarro  encourages  the  most 
distinguished  officers  to  invade  different  provinces — Manco  Capac  finds  means  to  communicate  his 
schemes  for  liberation  to  his  trusty  adherents — The  Inca  obtains  permission  to  attend  a  great  festival, 
and  erects  the  standard  of  war — Many  Spaniards  massacred — Attacks  Cuzco — Lima  invested — At 
Cuzco,  where  the  Inca  commands  in  person,  the  Peruvians  make  their  chief  effort — The  siege  carried 
on  with  incessant  ardor  for  nine  months — The  Indians  do  not  display  the  undaunted  ferocity  of  the 
Mexicans,  but  greater  sagacity  —  Imitate  the  Spanish  discipline;  the  bravest  warriors  armed  with 
swords,  the  boldest,  among  whom  is  the  Inca  himself,  mounted  on  horses — Their  numbers  annoy  the 
Spaniards — Manco  Capac  recovers  one-half  of  the  capital — Death  of  Juan  Pizarro — The  Spaniards  im- 
patient to  abandon  Cuzco,  when  Almagro  suddenly  appears — Motives  of  his  conduct — Receives  the 
royal  letters  patent — Deems  it  manifest  that  Cuzco  lies  within  the  boundaries  of  his  government — Re- 
turns by  a  new  route,  suffering  calamities  from  heat  and  drought,  hardly  inferior  to  those  in  the  icy 
regions  of  the  Andes — His  slow  advance  towards  the  capital,  sets  negotiations  on  foot  with  the  Inca  and 
the  Spaniards — Manco  Capac  attacks  him  suddenly  and  is  repulsed — Schemes  of  accommodation  pro- 
posed by  both  Spanish  parties — Almagro  gains  adherents  of  the  Pizarros — His  claim  of  jurisdiction  over 
Cuzco  universally  acknowledged — Civil  war  and  first  success  of  Almagro— Alvarado  sent  with  500  men 
by  Francis  Pizarro  to  relieve  Cuzco — His  camp  surprised,  and  himself  taken  prisoner — Almagro  advised 
by  Rodrigo  Orgonez  to  put  Ferdinand  and  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  as  well  as  Alvarado,  to  death — Does  not 
suffer  himself  to  be  influenced  by  sentiments  unlike  those  of  a  soldier — Returns  to  Cuzco        .         .         .  666 

CHAPTER    LXIX. 

FRANCISCO    PIZARRO    PREPARES    FOR    WAR  —  HIS    MARCH    TO    CUZCO,     DEFEAT    AND    EXECUTION 
OF    ALMAGRO VACO    DE    CASTRO    APPOINTED    GOVERNOR REMARKABLE    EXPE- 
DITION   OF    GONZALO    PIZARRO    AND    ORELLANA. 

]*&cress  of  Pizarro — Necessity  for  attending  to  his  own  safety,  and  desire  for  revenge  preserve  him  from 
sinking  under  it — His  artful  conduct — Protracts  negotiations  with  Almagro — Almagro  relying  on  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  professions,  concludes  an  agreement  with  him — Gonzalo  Pizarro  and  Alvarado  effect  their 


xlvl  CONTENTS. 

escape — Pizarro  hears  of  it,  forgets  the  treaty,  and  marches  towards  Cuzco — Almagro  fails  to  grasp  the 
situation  and  awaits  him  on  the  plain  of  Cuzco — Both  sides  display  the  royal 'standard,  and  not  a  single 
overture  towards  accommodation  is  made — Fierce  conflict  ensues ;  the  well  disciplined  musketeers  of 
Pizarro  carry  the  day — The  route  is  general — Orgonez  is  massacred  and  Almagro  taken  prisoner — The 
pillage  of  Cuzco — Pizarro  encourages  his  officers  to  attempt  the  discovery  and  reduction  of  various  prov- 
inces— Almagro  tried  and  condemned  to  be  strangled  in  prison — Meets  his  death  with  the  dignity  and 
fortitude  of  a  veteran — Deliberations  of  the  court  of  Spain  concerning  the  state  of  Peru — Ferdinand 
Pizarro  represents  Almagro  as  the  aggressor — The  crown  decides  to  send  a  person  to  Peru,  vested  with 
extensive  powers — Christoval  Vaca  de  Castro  selected — He  is  to  assume  the  title  of  judge,  and  if  Pizarro 
is  dead,  is  appointed  his  successor — Pizarro  divides  Peru  among  his  followers — The  followers  of  Almagro 
totally  excluded;  they  murmur  in  secret,  and  meditate  revenge — Progress  of  the  Spanish  arms — Pedro 
de  Valdivria  invades  Chili,  and  founds  the  city  of  St.  Jago — Remarkable  expedition  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro — 
Attempts  the  conquest  of  the  country  east  of  the  Andes — Hardships  he  endures — Incessant  toil,  scarcity 
of  food,  exhausts  the  dispirited  troops — Reaches  the  banks  of  the  Napo — Builds  a  bark  and  entrusts  it 
to  Francis  Orellana — Deserted  by  Orellana — Orellana  sails  down  the  Maragnon,  or  Amazon  River — 
Reaches  the  ocean,  and  gets  safely  to  the  Spanish  settlement  of  Cubagua — His  extravagant  tales — The 
country  named  "  El  Dorado  " — Distress  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro  when  learning  the  extent  of  Orellana's  crime — 
The  expedition  returns  ;  compelled  to  feed  on  roots,  berries,  loathsome  reptiles,  and  gnaw  the  leather  of 
their  saddles  and  sword  belts — Five  thousand  Indians  and  200  Spaniards  perish — Naked,  like  savages, 
emaciated  by  famine,  he  returns  to  Quito 68l 


CHAPTER    LXX. 

t 

DEATH    OF    FRANCISCO    PIZARRO — ARRIVAL   OF    VACA    DE    CASTRO  —  LAS    CASAS    MOVES    THE 

EMPEROR    CHARLES    V.    TO    CONSIDER   THE   WELFARE    OF    HIS 

INDIAN    SUBJECTS. 

Number  of  malcontents  in  Peru — Look  upon  young  Almagro  as  their  leader — Urged  by  distress,  they  con- 
spire against  the  life  of  Pizarro — He  disregards  the  admonitions  of  his  friends — Juan  de  Herrada,  at  the 
head  of  the  conspirators,  sallies  forth  towards  the  governor's  palace — Gain  entrance  unobserved — Pizarro 
defends  himself  with  buckler  and  sword,  but  receives  a  deadly  thrust  full  in  his  throat — "  Jesu,"  exclaims 
the  dying  man,  and,  tracing  a  cross  with  his  finger  on  the  bloody  floor,  bends  down  his  head  to  kiss  it, 
when  a  friendly  stroke  puts  an  end  to  his  existence — Almagro  acknowledged  as  his  successor — New  ap- 
pearances of  discord — Arrival  of  Vaca  de  Castro,  who  assumes  the  title  of  Governor — His  jurisdiction 
acknowledged  by  Benalcazar  and  Pedro  de  Puelles — Gains  many  adherents — Conduct  of  Almagro — 
Progress  of  Vaca  de  Castro — He  discharges  the  functions  of  general — Defeat  of  Almagro,  whose  follow- 
ers chose  to  fall  like  soldiers,  rather  than  wait  on  ignominious  doom — Severity  of  Castro's  proceedings — 
Almagro  beheaded — Consultation  of  the  emperor  concerning  his  dominions  in  America — The  conquered 
race  pillaged,  and  parceled  out  among  its  new  masters — The  invaders  have  no  object  but  to  amass  sud- 
den wealth — Necessity  for  substituting  the  institutions  of  a  regular  government  into  the  newly  acquired 
provinces — The  natives  perish  so  fast,  that  Spain  becomes  apprehensive  of  soon  being  proprietor  of  a 
vast  uninhabited  desert — Solicitude  of  the  emperor  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  the  Indians — The  persons 
with  whom  he  consults — Bartholomew  de  las  Casas — His  zeal,  his  ardor  and  eloquence — Makes  a  deep 
impression  by  his  description  of  the  irreparable  waste  of  the  human  species  in  the  New  World — Imputes 
it  to  the  exactions,  and  cruelty  of  his  countrymen — Declares  that  nothing  can  prevent  the  depopulation 
of  America,  but  to  declare  the  natives  freemen,  and  subjects — Composes  his  famous  treatise — The  empe- 
ror's solicitude  to  introduce  a  general  reformation  of  government — Frames  new  regulations  for  this 
purpose — His  ministers  remonstrate  against  them — Appoints  Nunez  Vela  Viceroy  for  Peru — Effect  of 
the  regulations  in  New  Spain  and  in  Peru — An  insurrection  prevented  by  the  moderation  of  Castro — The 
spirit  of  disaffection  increased  by  the  viceroy — Nunez  Vela  declares  the  natives  free — Arrest  of  Vaca  de 
Castro,  who  is  loaded  with  chains — The  malcontents  choose  Gonzalo  Pizarro  to  be  their  leader — Hailed 
with  transports  of  joy  as  the  deliverer  of  the  colony — He  takes  possession  of  the  royal  treasure,  a  large 
train  of  artillery  sets  out  for  Lima — Dissensions  of  the  viceroy,  and  court  of  audience  —  The  viceroy 
arrested  and  carried  to  a  desert  island  on  the  coast •  693 


CONTENTS.  xlvii 

CHAPTER    LXXI. 

NUNEZ    VELA   MARCHES   AGAINST    PIZARRO  AND    IS    KILLED   IN    BATTLE — fIZARRO's    NEGOTIATIONS 

WITH    THE    SPANISH    CROWN APPOINTMENT    OF    PEDRO    DE    LA    GASCA,     A    PRIEST, 

TO    THE    PRESIDENCY    OF    PERU. 

Alvarez  sets  the  viceroy  at  liberty  at  Tumbez — Gains  adherents — Pizarro  marches  against  him — The  viceroy 
loses  two  battles  and  his  own  head — Carvajal  advises  Pizarro  to  resume  the  sovereignty  of  Peru,  marry 
a  cova,  and  gain  the  natives — Pizarro  chooses  to  negotiate  with  the  court  of  Spain — Consultation  of  the 
Spanish  ministers — Pedro  de  la  Gasca  appointed  as  president — His  moderate  demands — The  powers 
committed  to  him — His  arrival  in  Panama — Hinojosa  and  Mexia  gained  over — Violent  proceedings  of 
Pizarro — Gasca  gains  his  fleet  and  troops  at  Panama — Pizarro  resolves  on  war — Preparations  of  Gasca — 
Collects  troops  in  Nicaragua,  Carthagena,  and  other  settlements — Insurrection  of  Centeno,  against  whom 
Pizarro  marches — His  followers  the  boldest  and  most  desperate — Offers  him  battle  at  Huarina — The  in- 
trepid valor  of  Pizarro  and  the  superiority  of  Carvajal  triumph  over  numbers 714 

CHAPTER'    LXXII. 

LANDING    OF    GASCA    IN    PERU EXECUTION    OF     PIZARRO DIVISION    OF    THE    COUNTRY    AND 

RETURN    OF    GASCA    TO    SPAIN. 

The  citizens  of  Lima  revolt — Gasca  lands  at  Tumbez — Cuzco  possessed  by  Pizarro,  the  balance  of  Peru 
acknowledge  the  president — Gasca  solicitous  to  reclaim,  not  to  punish — His  preparations  for  war — Pizarro 
refuses  to  listen  to  terms — Advised  by  Carvajal  and  Cepeda  to  close  with  the  president's  offer — Pizarro 
marches  out  to  meet  the  enemy — Gasca,  the  bishop  of  Lima,  Quito,  and  Cuzco,  bless  the  men  before  the 
battle  opens — Pizarro  deserted  by  his  troops,  who  throw  down  their  arms — Pizarro  surrenders  himself — 
Gasca  orders  the  beheading  of  Pizarro  and  Carvajal — "One  can  die  but  once,"  the  latter  replies  when 
sentence  is  pronounced — Cepeda  sent  a  prisoner  to  Spain — No  mercenary  soldiers  in  the  civil  wars  of 
Peru — Armies  immensely  expensive — Gonzalo  Pizarro  advances  500,000  pesos  to  raise  1,000  men — Gasca 
expends  900,000  pesos  in  levying  troops  against  Pizarro — Immense  rewards  to  individuals — Their  pro- 
fusion and  luxury — Ferocity  of  the  contests — Want  of  faith — Violated  engagements — Betrayed  associates 
— Veterans  surrender  without  striking  a  blow — Gasca  devises  employment  for  his  soldiers — Division  of 
the  country  among  his  followers — Discontent  it  occasions — Re-establishes  order  and  government — Sets 
out  for  Spain — His  reception  there — Remains  in  poverty — Obliged  to  petition  for  a  small  sum  to  dis- 
charge some  petty  debts — Appointed  bishop  of  Palencia — The  tranquillity  of  Peru  not  of  long  continu- 
ance— Successive  insurrections — These  commotions  not  of  long  duration — Several  of  the  first  invaders 
and  many  licentious  adventurers  dead — Men  less  enterprising,  but  less  desperate  settle,  and  the  royal 
authority  is  firmly  established       ......  J2t> 


Book  V. — A  Complete  History  of  the  United  States. 

Prehistoric  inhabitants — The  Vikings — Christopher  Columbus — Other  explorers — Settlements  in  America — 
Virginia — New  York — Massachusetts — Connecticut — Rhode  Island — New  Hampshire — Maryland — Dela- 
ware— The  Carolinas — New  Jersey — Pennsylvania — Georgia — Indian  wars — French  settlements — Wars 
with  French  colonies — Causes  of  the  Revolution — The  Stamp  Act — The  duty  on  tea — The  Boston  Tea 
Party — First  Continental  Congress — Battle  of  Lexington — Battle  of  Bunker  Hill — The  Declaration  of 
Independence — Battle  of  Long  Island — Capture  of  Philadelphia — Surrender  of  Burgoyne — Battle  of 
Monmouth — Treaty  with  France — Exploits  of  Paul  Jones — Treason  of  Benedict  Arnold — Surrender  of 
Cornwallis — Treaty  of  Peace — Distress  of  the  colonies — Framing  of  the  Constitution — Organization  of 
the  Northwestern  Territory — Inauguration  of  Washington — Washington's  Cabinet — Washington's 
second  term — Republicans  and  Federalists — Election  of  John  Adams — The  war  with  France — Death 
of  Washington — Election  of  Jefferson — The  Louisiana  purchase — The  war  with  Tripoli — The  Death  of 
Hamilton — Re-election  of  Jefferson — The  right  of  search — Election  of  Madison — Battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe— The  War  of  1812 — Surrender  of  Detroit — Battle  of  Oueenstown — Successes  at  sea — Re-election 


xlviii  CONTENTS. 

of  Madison — Battle  of  Lake  Erie — The  Creek  War — Sea  fights  of  1813 — Battle  of  Chippewa — Battle 
of  Lundy's  Lane — Battle  of  Plattsburg — Battle  of  Bladensburg — Burning  of  the  Capitol — Battle  of  New 
Orleans — Treaty  of  Ghent — Hartford  Convention — Decatur  at  Algiers — Election  of  Monroe — Capture  of 
Pensacola — Purchase  of  Florida — The  Missouri  Compromise — The  Tariff  Question — The  Monroe  Doc- 
trine— Election  of  John  Ouincy  Adams — Death  of  Jefferson  and  John  Adams — Election  of  Jackson — 
The  Bank  of  the  United  States — Nullification  in  South  Carolina — The  Black  Hawk  War — Re-election 
of  Jackson — The  Seminole  War — Admission  of  Arkansas  and  Michigan — Election  of  Van  Buren — The 
Rebellion  in  Canada — Capture  of  Osceola — Election  and  death  of  Wm.  H.  Harrison — Succession  of 
Tyler — -Resignation  of  Tyler's  Cabinet — The  Ashburton  Treaty — Dorr's  Rebellion — The  Mormons — 
Texan  Independence — Admission  of  Texas — Campaign  of  1844 — Election  of  Polk — Invention  of  the 
telegraph — The  Oregon  Question — Beginning  of  the  Mexican  War — Battle  of  Palo  Alto — Capture  of 
Monterey — Conquest  of  California — Battle  of  Bracito — Battle  of  Buena  Vista — Capture  of  Vera  Cruz — 
Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo — Battle  of  Churubusco — Capture  of  Chapultepec — Capture  of  the  City  of  Mexico 
— Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo — Discovery  of  Gold — Campaign  of  1848 — Election  of  Taylor — The 
California  Question — The  Omnibus  Bill — Death  of  President  Taylor — The  Fisheries  Question — Cam- 
paign of  1852 — Election  of  Pierce — Death  of  Clay  and  Webster — Perry's  Expedition  to  Japan — The 
Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — Campaign  of  1856 — Election  of  Buchanan — The  Mormon  Rebellion — Admis- 
sion of  Minnesota  and  Oregon — John  Brown's  Raid — Campaign  of  i860 — Election  of  Lincoln — ■ 
Secession  of  Southern  States — Formation  of  the  Confederacy — Admission  of  Kansas — Career  of  Lin- 
coln— Lincoln's  Inauguration — Fall  of  Fort  Sumter — Secession  of  Virginia — Riot  in  Baltimore — Battle 
of  Bull  Run,  or  Manassas — Battles  in  Western  Virginia — Kentucky  and  Missouri — Battles  of  Belmont 
and  Ball's  Bluff — Blockade  of  Confederate  Ports — The  Trent  Affair — Capture  of  Fort  Henry  and  Fort 
Donelson — Battle  of  Shiloh — Capture  of  Island  No.  10 — Invasion  of  Kentuck) — Battle  of  Perryville — 
Attack  on  Vicksburg — Battles  of  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Corinth,  Stone  River,  and  Pea  River — Expedition 
against,  and  capture  of  New  Orleans — Capture  of  Roanoke  Island — The  Monitor  and  Merrimac  Duel — 
Capture  of  Fort  Pulaski — The  Peninsula  Campaign — Battle  of  Seven  Pines — The  Seven  Days'  Battles 
— Jackson  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley — Battles  of  Cedar  Mountain  and  Manassas — Lee's  Invasion  of 
Maryland — Battles  of  Antietam  and  Fredericksburg — Emancipation  Proclamation — Battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville — Lee's  Invasion  of  Pennsylvania — Battle  of  Gettysburg — Capture  of  Arkansas  Post — Grant  at 
Vicksburg — Grierson's  Raid — Battle  of  Jackson — Capture  of  Vicksburg — Retreat  of  Johnston — Battles 
of  Chickamauga  and  Missionary  Ridge — Capture  of  Galveston — Quantrell's  Raid — Morgan's  Raid — 
Expedition  against  Charleston — Admission  of  West  Virginia — Draft  Riots  in  New  York— Siege  of 
Knoxville — Sherman's  Meridian  Expedition — Forrest's  Raid — Red  River  Expedition — Battle  of  Sabine 
Cross  Roads — Grant  as  Commander-in-Chief — Battles  of  Resaca,  Dallas,  Lost  Mountain,  and  Kenesaw — 
Siege  of  Atlanta — Battle  of  Nashville— Sherman's  March  to  the  Sea — Capture  of  Savannah — Battles  of 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor,  and  Petersburg — Early's  Raid — Battle  of  Monocacy — 
Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley — Battles  of  Winchester,  Cedar  Creek,  and  Olustee — Expedition 
against  Mobile  and  Fort  Fisher — Destruction  of  the  Albemarle — Confederate  Privateers — The  Alabama 
and  her  destruction — Re-election  of  Lincoln — Capture  of  Forts  Fisher  and  Wilmington — Battle  of 
Waynesboro — Capture  of  Columbia — Battles  of  Goldsboro  and  Five  Forks — Capture  of  Petersburg  and 
Richmond — Lee's  Surrender  at  Appomattox — Capture  of  Raleigh — Assassination  of  Lincoln — John- 
ston's Surrender — Capture  of  Jefferson  Davis — Succession  of  President  Johnson — The  Alabama  Ques- 
tion— The  Thirteenth  Amendment — The  National  Debt — Reconstruction — The  Archduke  Maximilian  in 
Mexico — The  Atlantic  Cable — Purchase  of  Alaska — Impeachment  of  President  Johnson — Proclamation 
of  Amnesty — Battle  of  the  Wacheta — Election  of  Grant — The  First  Transcontinental  Railroad — The 
Fifteenth  Amendment — The  Alabama  Indemnity — The  San  Juan  Arbitration — Re-election  of  Grant — 
Chicago  and  Boston  Fires — The  Financial  Panic  of  1873 — The  Modoc  War — Battle  of  the  Little  Big 
Horn — The  Centennial  Exposition — Presidential  Election  of  1876 — The  Electoral  Commission — The 
Strikes  of  1877 — Resumption  of  Specie  Payments — Chinese  Immigration — Yellow  Fever  on  the  Missis- 
sippi— The  Fishery  Commission — Election  and  Assassination  of  Garfield — Succession  of  Arthur — The 
Brooklyn  Bridge — Revolutionary  Centenaries — Election  of  Cleveland — The  Mills'  Bill — Deaths  of  Grant, 
Sheridan,  and  Hendricks — Campaign  of  1888 — Election  of  Harrison — Admission  of  six  States — The 
McKinley  Tariff  Law— The  Behring  Sea  Question— The  New  Orleans  Affair— The  Itata— Ultimatum  to 
Chili — The  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago.  •  741 


Book  I. 


(49)' 


■S- 

X       ^7     / 


'  ^fy^yvw^^ 


[Xpo  abbreviation  for  Xpioros  =  main 
part  of  Columbus's  surname.  Kerens, 
the  last  part  =  carrier  of  Christ.] 


FAC-SIMILE  OF  THE  LAST  LINE  OF  A  LETTER  OF  COLUMBUS,  DATED  GRANADA,   FEB.  6,   1502. 

("A  tos  Reyes  CatdHcos  exponiendo  algunas  ohservaciones  sobrc  el  arte  de  naveger") 

PORTRAIT   OF   CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS    DISCOVERED    IN    COMO,    ITALY. 

Besides  the  value  it  has  as  an  authentic  picture  of  the  illustrious  navigator,  it  possesses  the  further  importance  of 
being  the  work  of  the  painter  Del  Piombo.  It  was  considered  as  an  heirloom  of  the  family,  extinct  to-day.  uf  the  Glovios, 
and  was  in  the  possession  of  Paul  Glovio,  who  refers  to  it  in  his  works,  in  one  of  which  it  is  engraved-  After  the  ex- 
tinction of  the  male  line  of  the  Glovio  family,  the  picture  passed  two  generations  ago  to  the  family  of  De  Orchi,  and  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  De  Orchi  of  Como. 


COPYRIGHT,   1892,    BY  F.   E.  WRIGHT 


Venient  atmis 
Saecula  seris,  quibus  Oceauus 
Vincula  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 
Pateat  tellus,  Typhisque  novos 
Detegat  Orbes,  nee  sit  terris 
Ultima  Thule. 

Seneca,  Medea. 


<5») 


HETHER  in  old  times,  beyond 
the  reach  of  history  or  tradition, 
and  at  some  remote  period,  when, 
as  some  imagine,  the  arts  may 
have  flourished  to  a  degree  un- 
known to  those  whom  we  term  the 
ancients,  there  existed  an  intercourse 
between  the  opposite  shores  of  the 
Atlantic;  whether  the  Egyptian  le- 
gend narrated  by  Plato,  respecting  the 
island  of  Atlantis,  was  indeed  no  fable,  but 
the  tradition  of  some  country,  engulfed  by 
one  of  those  mighty  convulsions  of  our 
globe,  which  have  left  the  traces  of  the 
ocean  on  the  summits  of  lofty  mountains ; 
must  ever  remain  matters  of  vague  and  vision- 
ary speculation.  As  far  as  authenticated  history 
extends,  nothing  was  known  of  terra-firma,  and 
the  islands  of  the  western  hemisphere,  until 
their  discovery  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  A  wandering  bark  may  occasionally  have  lost  sight  of  the  landmarks 
of  the  old  continents,  and  been  driven  by  tempests  across  the  wilderness  of 

(S3) 


54 


INTRODUCTION". 


waters,  long  before  the  invention  of  the  compass,  but  none  ever  re- 
turned to  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  ocean  ;  and  though,  from  time 
to  time,  some  document  has  floated  to  the  old  world,  giving  to  its 
wondering  inhabitants  indications  of  land  far  beyond  their  watery- 
horizon,  yet  no  one  ventured  to  spread  a  sail,  and  seek  that  land, 
enveloped  in  mystery  and  peril.  Or,  if  the  legends  of  the  Scan- 
dinavian voyagers  be  correct,  and  their  mysterious  Vinland  were 
the  coast  of  Labrador  or  the  shore  of  Newfoundland,  the}-  had  ob- 
tained glimpses  of  the  New  World,  leading  to  no  permanent  knowl- 
edge, and  in  a  little  time  lost  again  to  mankind.  Certain  it  is, 
that  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the  most  in- 
telligent minds  were  seeking  in  every  direction  for  the  scattered 
lights  of  geographical  knowledge,  a  profound  ignorance  prevailed 
among  the  learned  as  to  the  western  regions  of  the  Atlantic  ;  its 
vast  waters  were  regarded  with  awe  and  wonder,  seeming  to  bound 
the  world  as  with  a  chaos,  into  which  conjecture  could  not  pene- 
trate, ,and  enterprise  feared  to  adventure.  We  need  no  greater 
proof  of  this,  than  the  description  given  of  the  Atlantic  by  Xerif 
al  Edrisi,  surnamed  the  Nubian,  an  eminent  Arabian  writer,  whose 
countrymen  possessed  all  that  was  known  of  geography  in  the 
middle  ages. 

"The  ocean,"  he  observes,  "encircles  the  ultimate  bounds  of 
the  inhabited  earth,  and  all  beyond  it  is  unknown.  No  one  has 
been  able  to  verify  anything  concerning  it,  on  account  of  its  diffi- 
cult and  perilous  navigation,  its  great  obscurity,  its  profound  depth, 
and  frequent  tempests;  through  fear  of  its  might}-  fishes,  and  its 
haughty  winds;  yet  there  are  many  islands  in  it,  some  of  which 
are  peopled,  and  others  uninhabited.  There  is  no  mariner  who 
dares  to  enter  into  its  deep  waters ;  or  if  an}-  have  done  so,  they 
have  merely  kept  along  its  coasts,  fearful  of  departing  from  them. 
The  waves  of  this  ocean,  although  they  roll  as  high  as  mountains, 
yet  maintain  themselves  without  breaking  ;  for  if  they  broke,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  a  ship  to  plough  them." 

It  is  the  object  of  the  following  work,  to  relate  the  deeds  and 
fortunes  of  the  mariner,  who  first  had  the  judgment  to  divine,  and 
the  intrepidity  to  brave,  the  mysteries  of  this  perilous  deep ;  and 
who,  by  his  hardy  genius,  his  inflexible  constancy,  and  his  heroic 
courage,  brought  the  ends  of  the  earth  into  communication  with 
each  other.     The  narrative  of  his  troubled  life  is  the  link  which 


INTRODUCTION. 


55 


connects  the  history  of  the  old  world  with  that  of  the  new.  Noth- 
ing grew  out  of  this  discovery  of  Vinland,  nor  does  any  idea 
appear  to  have  been  entertained  of  the  extent  or  importance  of  the 
region  thus  casually  brought  to  light.  Two  or  three  voyages  were 
made  to  it,  between  the  years  iooo  and  102 1,  after  which  it  ceased 
to  be  an  object  of  further  quest,  and  apparently  faded  from  thought, 
as  if  it  had  never  been.  At  the  time  when  Columbus  visited  Thule, 
upwards  of  three  centuries  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since  the  last 
voyage  to  Vinland  of  which  we  have  any  record ;  and  two  centuries 
and  a  half  since  the  sagas  which  mention  the  country  had  been 
written.  We  see  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  heard  any  thing  of 
these  discoveries  or  saw  the  sagas  in  question.  Had  he  done  so,  he 
would  doubtless  have  cited  them,  among  the  various  reports  of 
lands  seen  by  mariners  in  the  west,  with  which  he  sought  to  fortify 
his  theory  and  win  patronage  to  his  enterprise  during  years  of 
weary  and  almost  hopeless  solicitation.  It  is  more  than  probable 
that,  at  the  time  of  his  visiting  Thule,  the  tradition  concerning 
Vinland  had  long  been  forgotten,  and  the  sagas  had  been  consigned 
to  the  dust  of  libraries  and  archives ;  thence  to  be  drawn  forth  by 
antiquarian  research  in  after  ages,  when  his  own  discoveries  should 
have  cast  back  a  light  to  illuminate  their  obscurity. 


(s<n 


House  in  Cogoletto,  16  miles  west  of  Genoa,  on  the  Cornish  Road,  in  which  it  is 
claimed  Columbus  was  born.  Upon  its  front  is  a  quaint  inscription  in  which  the 
discoverer  is  compared  to  the  dove  (colomba)  which,  when  sent  by  noah  from  the 
ark,  discovered  drv  land  amid  the  waters. 


CHAPTER   I. 


BIRTH,    PARENTAGE,    EDUCATION,   AND   EARLY    LIFE   OF   COLUMBUS. 


<f=^g^Sg»y 


HRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS, 
or  Colombo,  as  the  name 
is  written  in  Italian,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Genoa,  about 
the  year  1435-6*,  of  poor  but 
reputable  and  meritorious  pa- 
rentage. He  was  the  son  of 
Domenieo  Colombo,  a 
wool-eomber,  and  Susan- 
na Fontanarossa,  his 
ife  ;  and  his  ancestors  seem  to  have 
followed  the  same  trade  for  several 
generations  in  Genoa.  Attempts  have 
been  made  to  prove  him  of  illustrious 
descent,  and  several  noble  houses  have 
laid  claim  to  him  since  his  name  has  become  so  renowned  as  to 
confer  rather  than  receive  distinction.  It  is  possible  some  of  them 
may  be  in  the  right,  for  the  feuds  in  Italy  in  those  ages  had  broken 
down  and  scattered  many  of  the  noblest  families,  and  while  some 
branches  remained  in  the  lordly  heritage  of  castles  and  domains, 
others  were  confounded  with  the  humblest  population  of  the  cities. 

*The  date  accepted  by  Naverette,  Humboldt,  the  curate  of  Los  Palacios,  etc. 


C57J 


53 


THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 


The  fact,  however,  is  not  material  to  his  fame;  and  it  is  a  higher 
proof  of  merit  to  be  the  object  of  contention  among  various  noble 
families,  than  to  be  able  to  substantiate  the  most  illustrious  lineage. 
His  son  Fernando  had  a  true  feeling  on  the  subject.  "I  am  of 
opinion,"  says  he,  "  that  I  should  derive  less  dignity  from  any 
nobility  of  ancestry,  than  from  being  the  son  of  such  a  father." 

Columbus  was  the  oldest  of  four  children  ;  having  two  broth- 
ers, Bartholomew  and  Giacomo,  or,  as  his  name  is  translated  into 
Spanish,  Diego,  and  one  sister,  of  whom  nothing  is  known,  except- 
ing that  she  was  married  to  a  person  in  obscure  life,  called  Gia- 
como Bavarello. 

While   very  young,    Columbus   was   taught  reading,   writing, 
grammar,  and  arithmetic,  and  made  some  proficiency  in  draw- 
ing.     He    soon    evinced    a    strong  passion    for   geographical 
knowledge,  and  an  irresistible  inclination  for  the  sea ;   and  in 
after-life,  when  he  looked  back  upon  his  career  with  a  solemn 
and  superstitious  feeling,  he  regarded  this  early  determina- 
tion of  his  mind  as  an  impulse  from  the  Deity,  guiding  him 
to  the  studies,  and  inspiring  him  with  the   inclinations, 
proper  to  fit  him  for  the  high  decrees  he  was  destined  to 
accomplish.      His  father,  seeing  the  bent  of  his  mind, 
endeavored    to    give     him    an     education    suitable    for 
maritime  life.      He    sent    him,  therefore,  to    the 
university  of  Pavia*,  where  he  was  instructed  in 
geometry,    geography,    astronomy,     and    naviga- 
tion ;    he  acquired   also   a  familiar  knowledge  of 
the    Latin    tongue,  which  at  that    time  was    the 
medium    of    instruction,    and    the    language    of 
He    remained    but    a   short    time    at    Pavia,    barely 
give    him  the    rudiments  of   the  necessary  sciences  ; 


MONUMENT  OF  COLUMBUS  IN   GENOA. 


the    schools, 
sufficient  to 

the  thorough  acquaintance  with  them  which  he  displayed  in 
after-life,  must  have  been  the  result  of  diligent  self-schooling, 
and  of  casual  hours  of  study,  amidst  the  cares  and  vicissitudes  of 
a  rugged  and  wandering  life.  He  was  one  of  those  men  of  strong 
natural  genius,  who  appear  to  form  themselves  ;  who,  from  hav- 
ing to  contend  at  their  very  outset  with  privations  and  impedi- 
ments, acquire  an  intrepidity  in  braving  and  a  facility  in  van- 
quishing  difficulties.      Such    men    learn    to    effect    great    purposes 

*  Some  authorities  express  doubt  about  his  having  attended  the  university. 


6o 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


with  small  means,  supplying  the  deficiency  of  the  latter  by  the 
resources  of  their  own  energy  and  invention.  This  is  one  of  the 
remarkable  features  in  the  history  of  Columbus.  In  every  under- 
taking, the  scantiness  and  apparent  insufficiency  of  his  means 
enhance  the  grandeur  of  his  achievements. 

Shortly  after  leaving  the  university,  he  entered  into  nautical 
life,  and,  according  to  his  own  account,  began  to  navigate  at  four- 
teen years  of  age.  A  complete  obscurity  rests  upon  this  part  of 
his  history.  It  is  supposed  he  made  his  first  voyages  with  one 
Colombo,  a  hardy  captain  of  the  seas,  who  had  risen  to  some  dis- 
tinction by  his  braver}',  and  who  was  a  distant  connection  of  his 
family.  This  veteran  is  occasionally  mentioned  in 
Id  chronicles;  sometimes  as  commanding  a  squad- 
l  ron  of  his  own,  sometimes  as  being  an  admiral 
in  the  Genoese  service.  He  appears  to  have 
been  bold  and  adventurous,  ready  to  fight  in 
any  cause,  and  to  seek  quarrel  wherever  it 
might  lawfully  be  found. 

The  seafaring  life  in  those  days  was 
peculiarly  full  of  hazard  and  enterprise. 
Even  a  commercial  expedition  resembled  a 
warlike  cruise,  and  the  maritime  merchant 
had  often  to  fight  his  way  from  port  to  port. 
Piracy  was  almost  legalized.  The  frequent 
feuds  between  the  Italian  states  ;  the  cruisings 
of  the  Catalonians  ;  the  armadas  fitted  out  by 
noblemen,  who  were  petty  sovereigns  in 
their  own  domains ;  the  roving  ships  and 
squadrons  of  private  adventurers ;  and  the 
wars  waged  with  the  Mohammedan  powers,  rendered  the 
narrow  seas,  to  which  navigation  was  principally  confined, 
scenes  of  the  most  hard}'  encounters  and  trying  reverses.  Such 
was  the  rugged  school  in  which  Columbus  was  reared,  and  such  the 
rugged  teacher  that  first  broke  him  to  naval  discipline. 

The  first  voyage  in  which  we  hear  any  account  of  his  being 
engaged,  was  in  a  naval  expedition  fitted  out  at  Genoa  in  1459, 
by  John  of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Calabria,  to  make  a  descent  upon  Na- 
ples, in  the  hope  of  recovering  that  kingdom  for  his  father,  King 
Reinier  or  Renato,  otherwise  called  Rene,  Count  de  Provence.    In 


Medal  with  the  likeness  of  Alphonse  the  Wise,  king 
of  Naples;  copper,  three-quarters  original  size,  Berlin. 
Bust  in  coat  of  mail,  between  crown  and  helmet. 
Superscription,  Divvs.  alphonsvs.  REX.  above  and  be- 
low the  date  ;  underneath,  trivmphator.  et.  pacificvs. 


holy 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


6l 


Medal  with  the  portrait  of  King  Ren6  and 
his  wife,  Johanna  de  Laval.  Inscription,  CON- 
CORDES. ANIMI.  IAM.  CECO.  CARPIMVR.  1GNI.  ET. 
PIETATE.  GRAVES.  EM.  LVSTRES.  LILII.  FLORES. 
Original,  royal  numismatical  cabinet,  Berlin. 


this  enterprise  the  republic  of  Genoa  aided  with  ships  and  money, 
and  many  private  adventurers  fitted  out  ships  and  galleys,  and  en- 
gaged under  the  banners  of  Anjou.  Among  the  number 
was  the  hardy  veteran  Colombo,  who  had  command  of 
a  squadron,  and  with  him  sailed  his  youthful  rela 
tion. 

The    struggle    of  John    of  Anjou    for    the 
crown  of  Naples  lasted  about  four  years,  with 
varied   fortune,  and   much   hard    service.      The 
naval  part  of  the  expedition  distinguished  itself 
by  various  acts  of  intrepidity,  and  when  the  un- 
fortunate duke  was  at  length  reduced  to  take  re- 
fuge  in  the  island  of  Ischia,  a  handful  of  galleys 
loyally  adhered  to  him,  guarded  the  island,   and 
scoured  and  controlled  the  whole  bay  of  Naples. 
It  is  presumed  that  Columbus  served  on  board  of 
this  squadron.     That  he  must  have  distinguished 
himself  in  the  course  of  the  expedition,  is  evident, 
from  his  having  been  at    one   time  appointed  to 
a  separate    command,  and    sent 
on    a  daring    enterprise   to    cut 
out  a   galley    from  the    port  of 
Tunis,    in  the  course  of  which 
he    exhibited    great    resolution 
and  address. 

There  is  an  interval  of  sev- 
eral years,  during  which  we 
have  but  one  or  two  shadowy 
traces  of  Columbus,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  principally 
engaged  in  the  Mediterranean, 
and  up  the  Levant,  sometimes 
in  voyages  of  commerce,  some- 
times in  warlike  contests  be- 
tween the  Italian  states,  some- 
times in  pious  and  predatory 
expeditions  against  the  Infi- 
dels, during  which  time  he  was 


Contemporary  picture  of  a  naval  battle,  in  the  background  a  seaport.    Miniature  in 
Croniques  de  france,  dangleterte,  etc.,  par  Sire  Jehan  Froissart ; 
Library  of  Breslau. 


62  THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 

often  under  the  perilous  command  of  his  old  fighting  relation,  the 
veteran  Colombo. 

The  last  anecdote  we  have  of  this  obscure  part  of  his  life  is 
given  by  his  son  Fernando.  He  says  that  his  father  sailed  for 
some  time  with  Colombo  the  younger,  a  famous  corsair,  nephew 
to  the  old  admiral  just  mentioned,  and  apparently  heir  of  his  war- 
like propensities  and  prowess,  for  Fernando  affirms  that  he  was  so 
terrible  for  his  deeds  against  the  Infidels,  that  the  Moorish  moth- 
ers used  to  frighten  their  unruly  children  with  his  name. 

The  bold  rover  waylaid  four  Venetian  galleys,  richly  laden, 
on  their  return  voyage  from  Flanders,  and  attacked  them  with 
his  squadron  on  the  Portuguese  coast  between  Lisbon  and  Cape 
St.  Vincent.  The  battle  lasted  from  morning  until  evening,  with 
great  carnage  on  both  sides.  The  vessels  grappled  each  other, 
and  the  crews  fought  hand  to  hand,  and  from  ship  to  ship.  The 
vessel  commanded  by  Columbus  was  engaged  with  a  huge  Vene- 
tian galley.  They  threw  hand  grenades  and  other  fiery  missiles, 
and  the  galley  was  wrapt  in  flames.  The  vessels  being  fastened 
together  by  chains  and  iron  grapplings,  could  not  be  separated, 
and  both  became  a  mere  blazing  mass,  involved  in  one  conflagra- 
tion. The  crews  threw  themselves  into  the  sea.  Columbus  seized 
an  oar  which  was  floating  near  him,  and  being  an  expert  swimmer, 
attained  the  shore,  though  full  two  leagues  distant.  It  pleased 
God,  adds  his  son  Fernando,  to  give  him  strength,  that  he  might 
preserve  him  for  greater  things.  After  recovering  from  his  ex- 
haustion, he  repaired  to  Lisbon,  where  he  found  many  of  his  Geno- 
ese countrymen,  and  was  induced  to  take  up  his  residence. 

Such  is  the  account  given  by  Fernando  of  his  father's  first 
arrival  in  Portugal ;  and  it  has  been  currently  adopted  by  modern 
historians ;  biit  on  examining  various  histories  of  the  times,  the 
battle  here  described  appears  to  have  happened  several  years  after 
the  date  of  the  arrival  of  Columbus  in  that  country.  That  he 
was  engaged  in  the  contest  is  not  improbable ;  but  he  had  previ- 
ously resided  for  some  time  in  Portugal.  In  fact,  on  referring  to 
the  history  of  that  kingdom,  we  shall  find,  in  the  great  maritime 
enterprises  in  which  it  was  at  that  time  engaged,  ample  attractions 
for  a  person  of  his  inclinations  and  pursuits ;  and  we  shall  be  led 
to  conclude,  that  his  first  visit  to  Lisbon  was  not  the  fortuitous  re- 
sult of  a  desperate  adventure,  but  was  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of 
liberal  curiosity,  and  the  pursuit  of  honorable  fortune. 


s 
o 
o 


a 

< 


i 
i- 


«53> 


CHAPTER   II. 


PROGRESS   OF    DISCOVERY    UNDER    PRINCE   HENRY  OF    PORTUGAL.      RESIDENCE  OF    COLUMBUS 
IN    PORTUGAL.      IDEAS  CONCERNING   ISLANDS    IN   THE  OCEAN. 


career  of  modern  discovery  had 
commenced  shortly  before  the  time  of 
Columbus,  and,  at  the  period  of  which 
we  are  treating,  was  prosecuted  with 
great  activity  by  Portugal.  The  redis- 
covery of  the  Canary  Islands,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  the  occasional 
voyages  made  to  them,  and  to  the  oppo- 
site shores  of  Africa,  had  first  turned  the 
attention  of  mankind  in  that  direction. 
The  grand  impulse  to  discovery,  how- 
ever, was  given  by  Prince  Henry  of  Por- 
tugal, son  of  John  the  First,  surnamed 
the  Avenger,  and  Phillippa  of  Lan- 
caster, sister  of  Henry  the  Fourth  of  En- 
gland. Having, accompanied  his  father 
into  Africa,  in  an  expedition  against 
the  Moors,  he  received  much  information  at  Ceuta  concerning  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  and  other  regions  entirely  unknown  to  Europeans ; 
and  conceived  an  idea  that  important  discoveries  were  to  be  made, 
by  navigating  along  the  western  coast  of  Africa.  On  returning  to 
Portugal,  he  pursued  the  vein  of  inquiry  thus  accidentally 
opened.  Abandoning  the  court,  he  retired  to  a  country  retreat 
in  the  Algarves,  near  to  Sagres,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape 
St.  Vincent,  and  in  full  view  of  the  ocean.  Here  he  drew  round 
him  men  eminent  in  science,  and  gave  himself  up  to  those 
branches  of  study  connected  with  the  maritime  arts.     He  made 


COAT   OF   ARMS  OF    PORTUGAL. 


(64) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


65 


himself  master  of  all  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  ancients, 
and  of  the  astronomical  science  of  the  Arabians  of  Spain.  The 
result  of  his  studies  was  a  firm  conviction  that  Africa  was  circuin- 
navigable,  and  that  it  was  possible,  by  keeping  along  its  shores,  to 
arrive  at  India. 

For  a  long  time  past,  the  opulent  trade  of  Asia  had  been  mo- 
nopolized by  the  Italians ;  who  had  their  commercial  establishments 
at  Constantinople,  and  in  the  Black 
Sea.  Thither  all  the  precious  com- 
modities of  the  East  were  conveyed 
by  a  circuitous  and  expensive  internal 
route,  to  be  thence  distributed  over 
Europe.  The  republics  of  Venice 
and  Genoa  had  risen  to  power  and 
opulence,  in  consequence  of  this  mo- 
nopoly; their  merchants  emulated 
the  magnificence  of  princes,  and  held 
Europe,  in  a  manner,  tributary  to 
their  commerce.  It  was  the  grand 
idea  of  Prince  Henry,  by  circum- 
navigating Africa,  to  open  an  easier 
and  less  expensive  route  to  the 
source  of  this  commerce,  to  turn  it 
suddenly  into  a  new  and  simple 
channel,  and  to  pour  it  out  in  a 
golden  tide  upon  his  country.  He 
was  before  the  age  in  thought,  and 
had  to  struggle  hard  against  the 
ignorance  and  prejudices  of  mankind 


PRINCE   HENRY   THE   NAVIGATOR. 


After  a  miniature  in  the  Chronica  do  descobrimento  e  conguista  de 
Guine,  in  the  National  Library  0/  Paris. 


in  the  prosecution  of  his  design. 
Navigation  was  yet  in  its  infancy ; 
mariners  feared  to  venture  far  from  the  coast,  or  out  of  sight  of  its 
landmarks ;  and  the}-  looked  with  awe  at  the  vast  and  unknown 
expanse  of  the  Atlantic;  they  cherished  the  old  belief  that  the 
earth  at  the  equator  was  girdled  by  a  torrid  zone,  separating  the 
hemispheres  by  a  region  of  impassable  heat ;  and  they  had  a  super- 
stitious belief,  that  whoever  doubled  Cape  Bojador  would  never 
return. 

Prince  Henry  called  in  the  aid  of  science  to  dispel  these  er- 


66 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


PRINCE  HENRY 
PORTAL 


rors.  He  established  a  naval  college  and  observatorj-  at  Sagres, 
and  invited  thither  the  most  eminent  professors  of  the  nau- 
tical faculties.  The  effects  of  this  establishment  were  soon 
apparent.  A  vast  improvement  took  place  in  maps  and  charts ; 
the  compass  was  brought  into  more  general  use ;  the  Portu- 
guese marine  became  signalized  for  its  hardy  enterprises ;  Cape 
Bojador  was  doubled;  the  region  of  the  tropics  penetrated 
and  divested  of  its  fancied  terrors ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
African  coast,  from  Cape  Blanco  to  Cape  de  Verde,  ex- 
plored, and  the  Cape  de  Verde  and  Azore  Islands  dis- 
covered. To  secure  the  full  enjoyment  of  these  ter- 
ritories, Henry  obtained  a  papal  bull,  investing  the 
crown  of  Portugal  with  sovereign  authority  over  all  the 
lands  it  might  discover  in  the  Atlantic,  to  India  in- 
clusive. Henry  died  on  the  13th  of  November,  1473, 
before  he  had  accomplished  the  great  object  of  his 
ambition ;  but  he  had  lived  long  enough  to  behold, 
through  his  means,  his  native  country  in  a  grand  career 
of  prosperity.  He  has  been  well  described,  as  "full  of 
thoughts  of  loft}-  enterprise,  and  acts  of  generous 
spirit."  He  bore  for  his  device  the  magnanimous 
motto,  "the  talent  to  do  good,"  the  only  talent  worthy 
the  ambition  of  princes. 

The  fame  of  the  Portuguese  discoveries  drew  the  at- 
tention of  the  world,  and  the  learned,  the  curious,  and  the 
adventurous,  resorted  to  Lisbon  to  engage  in  the  enter- 
prises continually  fitting  out.  Among  the  rest,  Columbus 
arrived  there  about  the  year  1470.  He  was  at  that  time 
iu  the  full  vigor  of  manhood,  and  of  an  engaging  presence ; 
and  here  it  may  not  be  improper  to  draw  his  portrait,  ac- 
cording to  the  minute  descriptions  given  of  him  by  his 
contemporaries.  He  was  tall,  well-formed,  and  muscular, 
and  of  an  elevated  and  dignified  demeanor.  His  visage  was  long, 
and  neither  full  nor  meager ;  his  complexion  fair  and  freckled,  and 
inclined  to  ruddy ;  his  nose  aquiline,  his  cheek  bones  were  rather 
high,  his  eyes  light  gray,  and  apt  to  enkindle;  his  whole  counte- 
nance had  an  air  of  authority.  His  hair,  in  his  youthful  days, 
was  of  a  light  color,  but  care  and  trouble  soon  turned  it  gray,  and 
at  thirty  years  of  age  it  was  quite  white.     He  was  moderate  and 


THE  NAVIGATOR.     STATUE  ON  THE 
Of  THE  CLOISTER  OF  BELEM. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


67 


simple  in  diet  and  apparel,  eloquent  in  discourse,  engaging  and 
affable  with  strangers,  and  of  an  amiableness  and  suavity  in  do- 
mestic life,  that  strongly  attached  his  household  to  his  person. 
His  temper  was  naturally  irritable;  but  he  subdued  it  by  the 
magnanimity  of  his  spirit,  comporting  himself  with  a  courteous 
and  gentle  gravity,  and  never  indulging  in  any  intemperance  of 
language.  Throughout  his  life,  he  was  noted  for  a  strict  attention 
to  the  offices  of  religion ;  nor  did  his  piety  consist  in  mere  forms, 
but  partook  of  that  lofty  and  solemn 
enthusiasm  with  which  his  whole 
character  was  strongly  tinctured. 

While  at  Lisbon,  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  attend  religious  service  at 
the  chapel  of  the  Convent  of  All 
Saints.  Here  he  became  acquainted 
with  a  lad}'  of  rank,  named  Dona 
Felipa,  who  resided  in  the  convent. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Bartolomeo 
Monis  de  Palestrello,  an  Italian  cava- 
lier, lately  deceased,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  navi- 
gators under  Prince  Henry,  and  had 
colonized  and  governed  the  islaud  of 
Porto  Santo.  The  acquaintance  soon 
ripened  into  attachment,  and  ended 
in  marriage.  It  appears  to  have  been 
a  match  of  mere  affection,  as  the  lady 
had  little  or  no  fortune. 

The  newly-married  couple  re- 
sided with  the  mother  of  the  bride. 
The  latter,  perceiving  the  interest 
which  her  son-in-law  took  in  nautical  affairs,  used  to  relate  to  him 
all  she  knew  of  the  voj'ages  aud  expeditions  of  her  late  husband, 
and  delivered  to  him  all  his  charts,  journals,  and  other  manuscripts. 
By  these  means,  Columbus  became  acquainted  with  the  routes  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  their  plans  and  ideas ;  and,  having  by  his  marriage 
and  residence  become  naturalized  in  Portugal,  he  sailed  occasionally 
in  the  expeditions  to  the  coast  of  Guinea.  When  at  home,  he  sup- 
ported his  family  by  making  maps  aud  charts  ;  and  though  his  means 


PORTRAIT  OF  COLUMBUS  IN  THE  MARINE  MUSEUM  OF  MADRID. 

Copied  Jrom  the  Boletin  de  la  Sociedad geografica  de  Madrid. — T.vi. 


68 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


were  scanty,  he  appropriated  a  part  to  the  education  of  his  younger 
brothers,  and  the  succor  of  his  aged  father  at  Genoa.  From  Lisbon 
he  removed  for  a  time  to  the  recently  discovered  island  of  Porto 
Santo,  where  his  wife  had  inherited  some  property,  and  during 
his  residence  there  she  bore  him  a  son,  whom  he  named  Diego. 
His  wife's  sister  was  married  to  Pedro  Correo,  a  navigator  of  note, 
who  had  at  one  time  been  governor  of  Porto  Santo.  In  the  fa- 
miliar intercourse  of  domestic  life,  their  conversation  frequently 
turned  upon  the  discoveries  of  the  Atlantic  islands,  and  the  Af- 
rican coasts,  upon  the  long-sought-for  route  to  India,  and  upon 
the  possibility  of  unknown  lands  existing  in  the  west.  It  was  a 
period  of  general  excitement,  with  all  who  were   connected  with 

™ -^-— — , : — — — - —      maritime 

|  life,  or  who 
1  resided  i  n 
the  vicini- 
ty of  the 
ocean.  The 
recent  dis- 
coveries 
had  inflam- 
ed their  im- 
aginations, 
and  had 
filled  them 
with    ideas 


US£ON  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY,   SEEN   FROM  THE  RIVER  TAGUS.      REDRAWN   FROM  AN  OLD  ENGRAVING. 


of  other  isl- 
ands of  greater  wealth  and  beauty,  yet  to  be  discovered  in  the  bound- 
less wastes  of  the  Atlantic.  The  opinions  and  fancies  of  the  ancients 
were  again  put  into  circulation  ;  the  islands  of  Antilla,  and  Plato's 
imaginary  Atlantis,  once  more  found  firm  believers ;  and  a  thousand 
rumors  were  spread  of  unknown  islands  casually  seen  in  the  ocean. 
Many  of  these  were  mere  fables ;  many  of  them  had  their  origin  in 
the  self-deception  of  voyagers,  whose  heated  fancies  beheld  islands  in 
those  summer  clouds  which  lie  along  the  horizon,  and  often  beguile  the 
sailor  with  the  idea  of  distant  land.  The  most  singular  instance  of  this 
kind  of  self-deception,  or  rather  of  optical  delusion,  is  that  recorded 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Canaries.  They  imagined  that  from  time 
to  time  they  beheld  a  vast  island  to  the  westward,  with  lofty  mount- 


OF   COLUMBUS.  69 

ains  and  deep  valleys.  Nor  was  it  seen  in  cloudy  or  dubious  weather, 
but  with  all  the  distinctness  with  which  distant  objects  may  be  dis- 
cerned in  the  transparent  atmosphere  of  a  tropical  climate.  It  is 
true,  it  was  only  seen  transiently,  and  at  long  intervals ;  while  at 
other  times,  and  in  the  clearest  weather,  not  a  vestige  of  it  was  vis- 
ible ;  but  so  persuaded  were  the  people  of  the  Canaries  of  its  real- 
ity, that  they  obtained  permission  from  the  king  of  Portugal  to  fit 
out  various  expeditions  in  search  of  it.  The  island,  however,  was 
never  to  be  found,  though  it  still  continued  occasionally  to  cheat 
the  eye ;  many  identified  it  with  a  legendary  island,  said  to  have 
been  discovered  in  the  sixth  century,  by  a  Scottish  priest  of  the 
name  of  St.  Brandan,  and  it  was  actually  laid  down  in  many  maps 
of  the  times,  by  the  name  of  St.  Brandan,  or  St.  Borondon. 

All  these  tales  and  rumors  were  noted  down  with  curious  care 
by  Columbus,  and  may  have  had  some  influence  over  his  imagi- 
nation ;  but,  though  of  a  visionary  spirit,  his  penetrating  genius 
sought  in  deeper  sources  for  the  aliment  of  its  meditations.  The 
voyages  he  had  made  to  Guinea,  and  his  frequent  occupation  in 
making  maps  and  charts,  had  led  him  more  and  more  to  speculate 
on  the  great  object  of  geographical  enterprise  ;  but  while  others 
were  slowly  and  painfull}'  seeking  a  route  to  India,  by  following 
up  the  coast  of  Africa,  his  daring  genius  conceived  the  bold  idea 
of  turning  his  prow  directly  to  the  west,  and  seeking  the  desired 
land  by  a  route  across  the  Atlantic.  Having  once  conceived  this 
idea,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  from  what  a  mass  of  acknowledged 
facts,  rational  hypotheses,  fanciful  narrations,  and  popular  rumors, 
his  grand  project  of  discovery  was  wrought  out  by  the  strong  work- 
ings of  his  vigorous  mind. 

Note. — The  name  of  St.  Brandan,  or  Borondon,  given  to  this  imaginary- 
island  from  time  immemorial,  is  said  to  be  derived  from  a  Scotch-Irish  abbot, 
who  flourished  in  the  sixth  century,  and  who  is  called  sometimes  by  the  fore- 
going appellations,  sometimes  St.  Blandano,  or  St.  Blandanus.  In  the  Martyr- 
ology  of  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  he  is  said  to  have  been  the  patriarch  of 
three  thousand  monks.  About  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  he  accompanied 
his  disciple,  St.  Maclovio,  or  St.  Malo,  in  search  of  certain  islands  possessing 
the  delights  of  paradise,  which  they  were  told  existed  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean, 
and  were  inhabited  by  infidels.  These  most  adventurous  saints-errant  wandered 
for  a  long  time  upon  the  ocean,  and  at  length  landed  upon  an  island  called  Ima. 
Here  St.  Malo  found  the  body  of  a  giant  lying  in  a  sepulchre.  He  resuscitated 
him,  and  had  much  interesting  conversation  with  him,  the  giant  informing  him 
that  the  inhabitants  of  that  island  had  some  notions  of  the  Trinity,  and,  more- 


7° 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


over,  giving  him  a  gratifying  account  of  the  torments  which  Jews  aud  Pagans 
suffered  in  the  infernal  regions.  Finding  the  giant  so  docile  and  reasonable,  St. 
Malo  expounded  to  him  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion,  converted  him, 
and  baptized  him  by  the  name  of  Mildum.  The  giant,  however,  either  through 
weariness  of  life,  or  eagerness  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  his  conversion,  begged 
permission,  at  the  end  of  fifteen  days,  to  die  again,  which  was  granted  him. 

According  to  another  account,  the  giant  told  them  that  he  knew  of  an 
island  in  the  ocean,  defended  by  walls  of  burnished  gold,  so  resplendent  that 
they  shone  like  crystal,  but  to  which  there  was  no  entrance.  At  their  request, 
he  undertook  to  guide  them  to  it,  and  taking  the  cable  of  their  ship,  threw 
himself  into  the  sea.  He  had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  when  a  tempest 
rose,  and  obliged  them  all  to  return,  and  shortly  after  the  giant  died.  A  third 
legend  makes  the  saint  pray  to  heaven  on  Easter  day,  that  they  may  be  per- 
mitted to  find  land  where  they  may  celebrate  the  offices  of  religion  with  becom- 
ing state.  An  island  immediately  appears,  on  which  they  land,  perform  a 
solemn  mass,  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Eucharist ;  after  which  re-embarking 
and  making  sail,  they  behold  to  their  astonishment  the  supposed  island  suddenly 
plunge  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  being  nothing  else  than  a  monstrous  whale. 


COPIED    FROM   AN    ENGRAVING   OF   THE   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURV. 


CHAPTER   III. 

GROUNDS    ON    WHICH    COLUMBUS    FOUNDED    HIS    BELIEF   OF    UNDISCOVERED    LANDS  IN 

THE   WEST. 

E  have  a  record  of  the  determination  of 
Columbus  to  seek  a  western  route  to 
India,  as  early  as  the  year  1474,  in  a 
correspondence  which  he  held  with 
Paulo  Toscanelli,  a  learned  cosniogra- 
pher  of  Florence  ;  and  he  had  doubtless 
meditated  it  for  a  long  time  previous. 
He  was  moved  to  this  determination 
by  a  diligent  study  of  all  the  geograph- 
ical theories  of  the  ancients,  aided 
by  his  own  experience,  by  the  dis- 
coveries of  the  moderns,  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  astronomical  science.  He 
set  it  down  as  a  fundamental  principle, 
that  the  earth  was  a  terraqueous  globe, 
which  might  be  traveled  round  from 
east  to  west,  and  that  men  stood  foot  to 
foot  when  on  opposite  points.  The  circumference  from  east  to  west, 
at  the  equator,  he  divided,  according  to  Ptolemy,*  into  twenty-four 

*  Ptolemy  (Claudius)  lived  in  the  first  half  of  the  2d  century  in  Alexandria.     He  was  a 
geographer  and  mathematician. 


(71) 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


hours,  of  fifteen  degrees  each,  making  three  hundred  and  sixty  de- 
grees. Of  these  he  imagined,  comparing  the  globe  of  Ptolemy  with  the 
earlier  map  of  Marinus  of  Tyre,  that  fifteen  hours  had  been  known 
to  the  ancients,  extending  from  the  Canary  or  Fortunate  Islands,  to 
the  city  of  Thinae  in  Asia,  the  western  and  eastern  extremities  of  the 
known  world.  The  Portuguese  had  advanced  the  western  frontier 
one  hour  more  by  the  discovery  of  the  Azore  and  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands ;  still  about  eight  hours,  or  one  third  of  the  circumference 
of  the  earth,  remained  to  be  explored.  This  space  he  imagined  to 
be  occupied  in  a  great  measure  by  the  eastern  regions  of  Asia,  which 
might  extend  so  far  as  to  approach  the  western  shores  of  Europe 

and  Africa.  A  navigator,  therefore,  by  pur- 
suing a  direct  course  from  east  to  west,  must 
arrive  at  the  extremity  of  Asia,  or  discover 
any  intervening  land.  The  great  obstacle  to 
be  apprehended,  was  from  the  tract  of  ocean 
that  might  intervene,  but  this  could  not  be 
very  wide,  if  the  opinion  of  Alfraganus  the 
Arabian  were  admitted,  who,  by  diminishing 
the  size  of  the  degrees,  gave  to  the  earth  a 
smaller  circumference  than  was  assigned  to 
it  by  other  cosmographers  ;  a  theory  to  which 
Columbus  seems,  generally,  to  have  given 
much  faith.  He  was  fortified,  also,  by  the 
opinion  of  Aristotle,  Seneca,  Pliny,  and 
Strabo,  who  considered  the  ocean  as  but  of 
moderate  breadth,  so  that  one  might  pass 
from  Cadiz  westward  to  the  Indies  in  a  few 


MARCO  POLO.     AFTER  A  PAINTING  IN  THE  GALLERY  BADIA  IN  ROME. 


days. 


Columbus  derived  great  support  to  his  theory,  also,  from  a  let- 
ter which  he  received  in  1474  from  Paulo  Toscanelli,  the  learned 
Florentine  already  mentioned,  who  was  considered  one  of  the  ablest 
cosmographers  of  the  day.  This  letter  was  made  up  from  the  nar- 
rative of  Marco  Polo,  a  Venetian  traveler,  who,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  had  penetrated  the  remote  parts  of  Asia,  far  beyond  the 
regions  laid  down  by  Ptolemy.  Toscanelli  encouraged  Columbus  in 
an  intention  which  he  had  communicated  to  him,  of  seeking  India 
by  a  western  course,  assuring  him  that  the  distance  could  not  be 
more  than  four  thousand  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  Lisbon  to  the 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


73 


province  of  Mangi,  near  Cathay,  since  ascertained  to  be  the  north- 
ern coast  of  China.  Of  this  country  a  magnificent  description  was 
given  according  to  Marco  Polo,  who  extols  the  power  and  grandeur 
of  its  sovereign,  the  Great  Khan,  the  splendor  and  magnitude  of  his 
capitals  of  Cambalu,  and  Quinsai,  or  Kinsay,  and  the  wonders  of  the 
island  of  Cipango,  or  Zipangi,  supposed  to  be  Japan.  This  island 
he  places  opposite  Cathay,  far  in  the  ocean,  and  represents  it  as 
abounding  in  gold,  precious  stones,  and  spices,  and  that  the  palace 
of  the  king  was  covered  with  plates  of  gold,  as  edifices  in  other 
countries  are  covered  with  sheets  of  lead. 

The  work  of  Marco  Polo  is  deserving:  of  this       chmm'Sglo 


particular  mention,  from  being  a  key  to  many     ^*»«^*^^^^~***>/'^lo 


of  the  ideas  and  speculations  of  Columbus 


The  territories  of  the  Grand  Khan,  as     o,A\  V 

described  by  the    Venetian,  were  the    <£$  ~^S 

objects  of  his  diligent  search  in  all    M^ ~'^Sfc?  ( 

his  voyages ;    and  in    his   cruisings   gf 

among  the    Antilles,    he    was    con 

tiuually  flattering-  himself  with  the   hM~      Ik**,™ 

hopes   of  arriving  at    the    opulent    j$ 

island  of  Cipango,  and  the  shores    "?? 

of  Mangi  and  Cathay.     The    letter 

of  Paulo  Toscanelli  was  accompanied 

by  a  map,  projected  partly  according 

to  Ptolemy,  and  partly  according  to  th 

descriptions  of  Marco  Polo.     The  eastern 

coast  of  Asia  was  depicted  in  front  of  the 

coasts  of  Africa  and  Europe,  with  a  mod- 


^/c^coNfm^ 


It  is  presumed  that  Behem  (Behaim  in  German)  used 

erate      Space      Of      OCean      between      them       in       Toscanelli's  map  for  the  construction  of  the  Asiatic  part 

-I    •     -i  -  j  .  of  his  globus.     The  original  Toscanelli  map — the  most 

WUlCn      Were      placed,      at      Convenient      dlS-      memorable  of  maps,  as  the  great  American  scholar  Mr. 

tances,   Cipango,   Antilla   and    the    other    J°hnFisk"a»'sit-h« been  lost  <° the  ™M- 
islands.      By  this  conjectural   map  Columbus  governed  himself  in 
his  first  voyage. 

Besides  these  learned  authorities,  Columbus  was  attentive  to 
every  gleam  of  information  bearing  upon  his  theory,  that  might  be 
derived  from  veteran  mariners,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  lately 
discovered  islands,  who  were  placed,  in  a  manner,  on  the  frontier 
posts  of  geographical  knowledge.  One  Antonio  Leone,  an  inhab- 
itant of  Madeira,  told  him  that  in  sailing  westward  one  hundred 


74 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


leagues,  he  had  seen  three  islands  at  a  distance.  A  mariner  of  Port 
St.  Mary,  also,  asserted,  that  in  the  course  of  a  voyage  to  Ireland, 
he  had  seen  land  to  the  west,  which  the  ship's  company  took  for 
some  extreme  part  of  Tartary.  One  Martin  Vicenti,  a  pilot  in  the 
service  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  assured  Columbus  that,  after  sail- 
ing four  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  to  the  west  of  Cape  St.  Vincent, 
he  had  taken  from  the  water  a  piece  of  carved  wood,  evidently  not 
labored  with  an  iron  instrument.  As  the  wind  had  drifted  it  from 
the   west,   it   might   have   come   from   some   unknown  land  in  that 

direction. 

Pedro  Correo,  brother-in-law  of 
Columbus,  also  informed  him,  that  he 
had  seen  a  similar  piece  of  wood,  on 
the  island  of  Porto  Santo,  which  had 
drifted  from  the  same  quarter,  and  he 
had  heard  from  the  king  of  Portugal 
that  reeds  of  an  immense  size  had 
floated  to  those  islands  from  the  west, 
which  Columbus  supposed  to  be  the 
kind  of  reeds  of  enormous  magnitude 
described  by  Ptolemy  as  growing  in 
India.  Trunks  of  huge  pine  trees,  of 
a  kind  that  did  not  grow  upon  an}-  of 
the  islands,  had  been  wafted  to  the 
Azores  by  westerly  winds.  The  in- 
habitants also  informed  him  that  the 
bodies  of  two  dead  men  had  been  cast 
upon  the  island  of  Flores,  whose  feat- 
ures had  caused  great  wonder  and  speculation,  being  different 
from  those  of  any  known  race  of  people. 

Such  are  the  principal  grounds  on  which,  according  to  Fer- 
nando Columbus,  his  father  proceeded  from  one  position  to  another 
of  his  theory.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  grand  argument 
which  induced  him  to  his  enterprise,  was  the  one  first  cited; 
namely,  that  the  most  eastern  part  of  Asia  known  to  the  ancients 
could  not  be  separated  from  the  Azores  by  more  than  a  third  of 
the  circumference  of  the  globe;  that  the  intervening  space  must, 
in  a  great  measure,  be  filled  up  by  the  unknown  residue  of  Asia; 
and  that,  as  the  circumference  of  the  world  was  less  than  was  gen- 


MOUSE  SAID  TO  HAVE  BEEN  OCCUPIED  BY  COLUMBUS  ON  THE  ISLAND  OF  PORTO  SANTO 

FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


75 


erally  supposed,  the  Asiatic  shores  could  easily  be  attained  by  a 
moderate  voyage  to  the  west.  It  is  singular  how  much  the  success 
of  this  great  enterprise  depended  upon  two  happy  errors,  the  im- 
aginary extent  of  Asia  to  the  east,  and  the  supposed  smallness  of 
the  earth;  both  errors  of  the  most  learned  and  profound  philoso- 
phers, but  without  which  Columbus  would  hardly  have  ventured 
into  the  western  regions  of  the  Atlantic,  in  whose  unknown  and 
perhaps  immeasurable  waste  of  waters,  he  might  perish  before  he 
could  reach  a  shore. 

When  Columbus  had  once  formed  his 
theory,  it  became  fixed  in  his  mind  with 
singular  firmness.  He  never  spoke  in 
doubt  or  hesitation,  but  with  as  much  cer- 
tainty as  if  his  eyes  had  beheld  the  Prom- 
ised Land.  A  deep  religious  sentiment 
mingled  with  his  thoughts,  and  gave  them 
at  times  a  tinge  of  superstition,  but  of  a 
sublime  and  lofty  kind.  He  looked  upon 
himself  as  standing  in  the  hand  of  heaven, 
chosen  from  among  men  for  the  accomp- 
lishment of  its  high  purpose ;  he  read,  as 
he  supposed,  his  contemplated  discovery 
foretold  in  Holy  Writ,  and  shadowed  forth 
darkly  in  the  prophecies.  The  ends  of  the 
earth  were  to  be  brought  together,  and  all 
nations,  and  tongues,  and  languages,  united 
under  the  banners  of  the  Redeemer. 

The  enthusiastic  nature  of  his  concep- 

x  THE  SO-CALLED   "YANEZ    PORTRAIT"  OF  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  IN  THE 

tions  gave  an  elevation  to  his  spirit,  and  a  national  library  of  madhid. 

-..  •  i    i      r,  •  1*  111  Copied 'from  the  Boletin  de  la  Sociedad Ceoerafuade  Madrid — T.vt. 

dignity  and  loltmess  to  his  whole  demean- 
or. He  conferred  with  sovereigns  almost  with  a  feeling  of  equality. 
His  proposed  discovery  was  of  empires;  his  conditions  were  pro- 
portionately magnificent,  nor  would  he  ever,  even  after  long  delays, 
repeated  disappointments,  and  when  under  the  pressure  of  actual 
penury,  abate  what  appeared  to  others  extravagant  demands.  Those 
who  could  not  conceive  how  an  ardent  and  comprehensive  mind 
could  arrive  by  presumptive  evidence  at  so  firm  a  conviction,  sought 
for  other  modes  of  accounting  for  it ;  and  gave  countenance  to  an 
idle  tale  of  his  having  received  previous  information  of  the  western 

[5] 


76 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


world,  from  a  tempest-tost  pilot,  who  had  died  in  his  house,  be- 
queathing him  written  accounts  of  an  unknown  land  in  the  west, 
upon  which  he  had  been  driven  by  adverse  winds.  This,  and  other 
attempts  to  cast  a  shade  upon  his  fame,  have  been  diligently  exam- 
ined and  refuted;  and  it  appears  evident  that  his  great  enterprise 
was  the  bold  conception  of  his  genius,  quickened  by  the  impulse  of 
the  age,  and  aided  by  those  scattered  gleams  of  knowledge,  which 
fall  ineffectually  upon  ordinary  minds. 


FRONT  AND  HEAR  VIEW  OF  AN  ARABIAN  ASTROLABE.     PRESERVED  IN  THE  NATIONAL  LIBRARY  OF  PARIS. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


EVENTS   IN    PORTUGAL   RELATIVE  TO    DISCOVERY.      PROPOSITIONS   OF   COLUMBUS  TO  THE 

PORTUGUESE   COURT. 


HILE  the  design  of  attempting  the  dis- 
covery in  the  west  was  maturing  in  the 
mind  of  Columbus,  he  made  a  voyage 
to  the  northern  seas,  to  the  island  of 
Thule,  to  which  the  English  navigators, 
particularly  those  of  Bristol,  were  ac- 
customed to  resort  on  account  of  its 
fisher}-.  He  even  advanced,  he  says, 
one  hundred  leagues  beyond,  penetrated 
the  polar  circle,  and  convinced  himself 
of  the  fallacy  of  the  popular  belief,  that 
the  frozen  zone  was  uninhabitable.  The 
island  thus  mentioned  by  him  as  Thule 
is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  Ice- 
land, which  is  far  to  the  west  of  the 
Ultima  Thule  of  the  ancients,  as  laid 
down  on  the  map  of  Ptolemy.  Nothing 
more  is  known  of  this  voyage,  in  which  we  discern  indications  of 
that  ardent  and  impatient  desire  to  break  away  from  the  limits 
of  the  old  world,  and  launch  into  the  unknown  regions  of  the 
ocean. 


(77> 


78  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

Several  years  elapsed  without  any  decided  effort  on  the  part  of 
Columbus  to  carry  his  design  into  execution.  An  enterprise  of  the 
kind  required  the  patronage  of  some  sovereign  power,  which  could 
furnish  the  necessary  means,  could  assume  dominion  over  the  lands 
to  be  discovered,  and  could  ensure  suitable  rewards  and  dignities  to 
the  discoverer. 

The  cause  of  discovery  had  languished  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  reign  of  Alphonso  of  Portugal,  who  was  too  much  engrossed 
with  his  wars  with  Spain,  to  engage  in  peaceful  enterprises  of  great 
cost  and  doubtful  result.  Navigation  also  was  still  too  imperfect  for 
so  perilous  an  undertaking  as  that  proposed  by  Columbus.  Discov- 
ery advanced  slowly  along  the  coasts  of  Africa,  and,  though  the 
compass  had  been  introduced  into  more  general  use,  yet  mariners 
rarely  ventured  far  out  of  sight  of  land,  they  even  feared  to  cruise 
far  into  the  southern  hemisphere,  with  the  stars  of  which  they  were 
totally  unacquainted.  To  such  men,  therefore,  the  project  of  a 
voyage  directly  westward,  in  quest  of  some  imagined  land  in  the 
boundless  wastes  of  the  ocean,  appeared  as  extravagant,  as  it  would 
at  the  present  day  to  launch  forth  in  a  balloon  into  the  regions  of 
space,  in  quest  of  some  distant  star. 

The  time,  however,  was  at  hand,  that  was  to  extend  the  power 
of  navigation.  The  era  was  propitious  to  the  quick  advancement 
of  knowledge.  The  recent  invention  of  printing,  enabled  men  to 
communicate  rapidly  and  extensively  their  ideas  and  discoveries. 
It  multiplied  and  spread  abroad,  and  placed  in  every  hand,  those 
volumes  of  information,  which  had  hitherto  existed  only  in  costly 
manuscripts,  treasured  up  in  the  libraries  of  colleges  and  convents. 
At  this  juncture,  John  the  Second  ascended  the  throne  of  Portugal. 
He  had  imbibed  the  passion  for  discovery  from  his  grand-uncle, 
Prince  Henry,  and  with  his  reign  all  its  activity  revived.  The  re- 
cent attempts  to  discover  a  route  to  India,  had  excited  an  eager  cu- 
riosity concerning  the  remote  parts  of  the  East,  and  had  revived 
all  the  accounts,  true  and  fabulous,  of  travelers.  Among  these, 
were  the  tales  told  of  the  renowned  Prester  John,  a  Christian  king, 
said  to  hold  sway  in  a  remote  part  of  the  East,  but  whose  kingdom 
seemed  to  baffle  research  as  effectually  as  the  unsubstantial  island 
of  St.  Brandan.  All  the  fables  and  dreamy  speculations,  concerning 
this  shadowy  potentate,  and  his  oriental  realm,  were  again  put  in 
circulation.     It  was  fancied  that  traces  of  his  empire  had  been  dis- 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


79 


cemed  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  to  the  east  of  Benin,  where  there 
was  a  powerful  prince ,  who  used  a  cross  among  the  insignia  of  roy- 
alty; and  John  the  Second,  in  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  actually 
sent  missions  in  quest  of  the  visionary  Prester  John. 

Impatient  of  the  tardiness  with  which  his  discoveries  advanced 
along  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  eager  to  realize  the  splendid  project 
of  Prince  Henry,  and  conduct  the  Portuguese  flag  into  the  Indian 
seas,  John  the  Second  called  upon  his  men  of  science,  to  devise 
some  means  of  giving  greater  scope  and  certainty  to  navigation. 
His    two    physicians,    Roderigo 
and    Joseph,    the    latter    a   Jew, 
who  were  the  most  able  astrono- 
mers and  cosmographers  of  his 
kingdom,  together  with  the  cele- 
brated   Martin    Behem,    entered 
into  a  consultation  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  the  result  of  their  con- 
ferences was,  the  application  of 
the     astrolabe*     to     navigation. 
This  instrument  has  since  been 
improved  and  modified  into  the 
modern  quadrant,  of  which,  even 
at  its   first  introduction,  it  pos- 
sessed   all    the    essential   advan- 
tages.    This  invention  was  one 
of  those  timely  occurrences  which 
seem  to  have  something    provi- 
dential in  them.     It  was  the  one 
thing  wanting  to  facilitate  an  in- 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  AN  OLD  REPRESENTATION  OF  A  JACK  STAFF,  OR  CROSS  STAFF,  AND  ITS  APPLICATION 

tercourse  across  the  deep,  and  to  in  measuring  the  height  of  the  stars. 

cast    navigation    loose    from    its  />.«««<•  cosmography  i\m  a/.;,,,,;,  Antwerp,  ,ss4. 

long  bondage  to  the  land.  Science  had  thus  prepared  guides  for 
discovery  across  the  trackless  ocean,  and  had  divested  the  enterprise 
of  Columbus  of  that  extremely  hazardous  character,  which  had  been 
so  great  an  obstacle  to  its  accomplishment.  It  was  immediately 
after  this  event  that  he  solicited  an  audience  of  the  king  of  Portu- 
gal, to  lay  before  him  his  great  project  of  discovery.     This  is  the 

*The  Astrolabe  is  an  instrument  to  measure  the  height  of  the  sun  or  stars  with,  above 
the  horizon.     Since  replaced  by  the  Theodolite  and  Sextant. 


So 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


first  proposition  of  which  we  have  any  clear  and  indisputable  record, 
although  it  has  been  strongly  asserted,  and  with  probability,  that 
he  had  made  one  at  an  earlier  period,  to  his  native  county,  Genoa. 
Columbus  obtained  a  ready  audience  of  King  John,  who  was 
extremely  liberal  in  encouraging  and  rewarding  nautical  enterprise. 
He  explained  to  the  .monarch  his  theory,  and  proposed,  in  case  the 
king  would  furnish  him  with  ships  and  men,  to  conduct  them  by  a 
shorter  route  to  the  richest  countries  of  the  East,  to  touch  at  the 
opulent  island  of  Cipango,  and  to  establish  a  communication  with 

the  territories 
of  the  Grand 
Khan,  the 
most  splendid, 
powerful,  and 
wealthy  of 
oriental  poten- 
tates. 

King  John 
listened  atten- 
tively to  the 
proposition  of 
Columbus,  and 
referred  it  to  a 
learned  junto, 
composed  of 
Masters  Rod- 
erigo  and  Jo- 
seph, and  the 
king's  confes- 
sor, Diego  Or- 
tiz, bishop  of 
Ceuta,  a  man 
greatly  re- 
puted for  his 
learning,  a 
Castilian  by 
birth,  and  gen- 
erally called 
Cazadilla,  from 


COLUMBUS  EXPLAINS  HIS  THEORY  TO  KING  JOHN   II.  OF  POHTUGAL. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


8 1 


the  name  of  his  birthplace.  This  scientific  body  treated  the  project 
as  extravagant  and  visionary.  Still  the  king  was  not  satisfied,  but 
convoked  his  council,  composed  of  persons  of  the  greatest  learning 
in  the  kingdom,  and  asked  their  advice.  In  this  assembly,  Caza- 
dilla,  the  bishop  of  Ceuta,  opposed  the  theory  of  Columbus,  as  desti- 
tute of  reason,  and  indeed  evinced  a  cold  and  narrow  spirit,  hostile  to 
all  discover}-.  The  decision  of  the  council  was  equally  unfavorable 
with  that  of  the  junto,  and  the  proposition  of  Columbus  was  rejected. 
Certain  of  the  counsellors,  and  particularly  the  bishop  of  Caz- 
adilla,  see- 
ing that  the 
king  was 
dissatisfied 
with  their 
de  c  i  s  i  on , 
and  retain- 
ed alurking 
inclination 
for  the  en- 
t  er  p  ri  se  , 
suggested  a 
stratagem 
by  which  all 
its  advanta- 
ges might 
be  secured, 
without 
committing 
the  dignity 
of  the  crown 

by  entering  into  formal  negotiations  about  a  scheme,  which  might 
prove  a  mere  chimera.  The  king,  in  an  evil  hour,  departed  from 
his  usual  justice  and  generosity,  and  had  the  weakness  to  permit 
their  stratagem.  These  crafty  counsellors  then  procured  from 
Columbus,  as  if  to  assist  them  in  their  deliberations,  a  detailed  plan 
of  his  proposed  voyage,  with  the  charts  by  which  he  intended  to 
shape  his  course.  While  they  held  him  in  suspense,  awaiting  their 
decision,  they  privately  dispatched  a  caravel  to  pursue  the  desig- 
nated route. 


OF  KING  D.  JUAN  II.  AND  DONA  ISABELLA  OF  PORTUGAL  IN  THE  CARTHUSIAN   CLOISTER  OF  MIRAFLORES  IN  BURGOS. 


82 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


,  f-  >; 


The  caravel  took  its  departure  from  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands, 
and  stood  westward  for  several  days.  The  weather  grew  stormy, 
and  the  pilots  having  no  zeal  to  stimulate  them,  and  seeing  nothing 
but  an  immeasurable  waste  of  wild  tumbling  waves,  still  extending 
before  them,  lost  all  courage,  and  put  back  to  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands,  and  thence  to  Lisbon,  excusing  their  own  want  of  resolu- 
tion, by  ridiculing  the  project  as  extravagant  and  irrational. 

This  unworthy  attempt  to  defraud  him  of  his  enterprise  roused 
the  indignation  of  Columbus,  and,  though  King  John,  it  is  said, 
showed  a  disposition  to  renew  the  negotiation,  he  resolutely  de- 
clined.    His  wife  had  been  for  some  time  dead,  the  domestic  tie 

which  had 
bound  him 
t  o  Portugal, 
therefore, 
being  broken, 
he  determined 
to  abandon  a 
country  where 
he  had  been 
treated  w i  t  h 
so  little  faith. 
Like  most 
projectors, 
while  engaged 
in  schemes 
which  held 
out  promise 
of  incalcu- 
lable wealth,  he  had  suffered  his  affairs  to  run  to  ruin,  and  was 
in  danger  of  being  arrested  for  debt.  This  has  been  given  as  the 
reason  for  his  leaving  Portugal  in  a  secret  manner,  which  he  did 
towards  the  end  of  1484,  taking  with  him  his  son  Diego,  as  yet  a 
mere  child. 

An  interval  now  occurs  of  about  a  year,  during  which  the 
movements  of  Columbus  are  involved  in  uncertainty.  It  has  been 
asserted  by  a  modern  Spanish  historian  of  merit,  that  he  departed 
immediately  for  Genoa,  where  he  repeated  in  person  the  proposition 
which  he  had  formerly  made  to  the  government  by  letter.     The 


VIEW  OF  THE  GRAND  CANAL  IN  VENICE,  WITH  THE  CHURCH  OF  SANTA  MARIA  DELLA  SALUTA  IN  THE  OISTANCE. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


83 


republic  of  Genoa,  however,  was  languishing  under  a  long  decline, 
and  was  embarrassed  by  ruinous  wars.  Her  spirit  was  broken  with 
her  fortunes ;  for  with  nations,  as  with  individuals,  enterprise  is  the 
child  of  prosperity,  and  is  apt  to  languish  in  evil  days,  when  there 
is  most  need  of  its  exertion.  Thus,  Genoa,  it  would  appear,  dis- 
heartened by  reverses,  rejected  a  proposition  which  would  have  ele- 
vated the  republic  to  tenfold  splendor,  and  might  for  a  long  time 
have  perpetuated  the  golden  wand  of  commerce  in  the  failing  grasp 
of  Italy. 

From  Genoa,  it  has  been  said,  but  equally  without  positive 
proof,  that  Columtms  carried  his  proposal  to  Venice,  but  that  it  was 
declined  in  consequence  of  the  critical  state  of  national  affairs.  Dif- 
ferent authors  agree,  that  about  this  time  he  visited  his  aged  father, 
and  made  such  arrangements  for  his  comfort  as  his  own  poor  means 
afforded,  and  that  having  thus  performed  the  duties  of  a  pious  son, 
he  departed  once  more  to  try  his  fortunes  in  foreign  courts.  About 
this  time,  also,  he  engaged  his  brother  Bartholomew  to  sail  for 
England,  to  lay  his  propositions  before  Henry  the  Seventh,  whom  he 
had  heard  extolled  for  his  wisdom  and  munificence.  For  himself,  he 
sailed  for  Spain,  where  he  appears  to  have  arrived  in  great  poverty, 
for  this  course  of  fruitless  solicitation  had  exhausted  all  his  means; 
nor  is  it  one  of  the  least  extraordinary  circumstances  in  his  eventful 
life,  that  he  had,  in  a  manner,  to  beg  his  way  from  court  to  court, 
to  offer  to  princes  the  discovery  of  a  world. 


SEAL  OF  KING  HENRY  VII.  OF  ENGLAND.     AFTER  AN  IMPRESSION   IN  THE 
IMPERIAL  STATE  ARCHIVES  IN  BERLIN. 


A 


THE    VISION    OF   COLUMBUS    WHILE    BEGGING    HIS    WAY    FROM    COURT   TO    COURT. 

PAINTING    BY    D.    MANUEL    PICOlO. 


(84) 


THE  CONVENT  OF  LA  RABIDA. 


VIEW  OF  THE  TOWN  OF   PALOS. 


CHAPTER   V. 


FIRST  ARRIVAL  OF   COLUMBUS    IN   SPAI  N .— CHARACTER   OF  THE  SPANISH    SOVEREIGNS. 


HE  first  trace   we  have  of  Columbus   in 
Spain,  is  gathered  from  the  manuscript  docu- 
ments of    the    celebrated    lawsuit,  which    took 
place  a    few  years    after  his  death,  between  his 
son   Don  Diego  and  the  crown.     It  is  contained 
in  the  deposition  of  one  Garcia  Fernandez,  a  phy- 
sician, resident  in  the  little  seaport  of  Palos 
Ade  Moguer,  in  Andalusia.     About  half  a 
^M  league  from  Palos,  on  a  solitary  height 
overlooking  the  seacoast,  and  sur- 
gj!_  rounded  by  a  forest  of  pine  trees, 
there    stood,    and    stands    at 
5?)  the  present  day,  an  ancient 
convent  of  Franciscan  friars, 
dedicated  to  Santa  Maria  de 
Rabida.     A  stranger  travel- 
ing on  foot,  accompanied  by 
a  young  boy,  stopped  one  day 
at  the  gate  of  the  convent,  and 
asked    of    the    porter    a    little 
bread  and  water  for  his  child. 
While    receiving    this    humble 
refreshment,    the    guardian    of 
the  convent,  Friar  Juan  Perez 
de  Marchena,  happening  to  pass 
by,  was  struck  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  stranger,  and,  ob- 
serving from  his  air  and  accent 


FROM    A    PAINTING    IN    THE    CONVENT    OF    LA    RABIDA. 


(85) 


86 


THE   LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 


\m .-.  .r^'  -^ 

*  '  ' . '*""?' jElSL 

SP^W 

■f 

ljj^_aj 

S'~^~  J-,"lt»n        Bj 

THE    PRIOR   JUAN    PEREZ    DE    MARCHENA. 


that  he  was  a  foreigner,  entered  into  con- 
versation with  him.  That  stranger  was 
Columbus,  accompanied  by  his  young  son 
Diego.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  neigh- 
boring town  of  Huelva,  to  seek  a  brother- 
in-law,  who  had  married  a  sister  of  his 
deceased  wife. 

The  guardian  was  an  intelligent  man, 
and  acquainted  with  geographical  and 
nautical  science.  He  was  interested  by 
the  conversation  of  Columbus,  and  struck 
with  the  grandeur  of  his  plans.  He  de- 
tained him  as  his  guest,  and  being  diffi- 
dent of  his  own  judgment,  sent  for  a  scientific  friend  to  converse 
with  him.  That  friend  was  Garcia  Fernandez,  the  physician  of 
Palos,  the  same  who  furnishes  this  interesting  testimony,  and  who 
became  equally  convinced  with  the  friar  of  the  correctness  of  the 
theory  of  Columbus.  Several  veteran  pilots  and  mariners  of  Palos, 
also,  were  consulted  during  the  conferences  at  the  convent,  who 
stated  various  facts  observed  in  the  course  of  their  experience, 
which  seemed  to  corroborate  the  idea  of  western  lands  in  the  At- 
lantic. But  the  conviction  of  the  friar  was  still  more  confirmed,  by 
the  hearty  concurrence  of  an  important  personage  in  that  maritime 

neighbor- 
h  ood,  one 
Martin 
Alonzo  Pin- 
zon,  resi- 
dent of  the 
town  of  Pa- 
los, one  of 
the  most  in- 
telligent sea. 
captains  o  f 
the  day,  and 
the  head  of 
a  family  of 
wealthy  and 


the  consultation  in  the  convent.     Painting  by  F.  Maso. 


THE  CELL  OF  THE  PRIOR,  JUAN  PEREZ  DE  MA 


OF  COLUMBUS.  S; 

distinguished  navigators.  Pinzon  not 
only  gave  the  project  of  Columbus  his 
decided  approbation,  but  offered  to  en- 
gage in  it  with  purse  and  person. 

Fray  Juan  Perez,  being  now  fully 
persuaded  of  the  importance  of  the  pro- 
posed enterprise,  advised  Columbus  to 
repair  to  court,  and  make  his  proposi- 
tions to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  offer- 
ing to  give  him  a  letter  of  recommen- 
dation to  his  friend,  Fernando  de  Tal- 
avera,  prior  of  the  convent  of  Prado, 
and  confessor  to  the  queen,  and  a  man  of  great  political  influence, 
through  whose  means  he  would,  no  doubt,  immediately  obtain 
royal  audience  and  favor.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  also,  generously 
offered  to  furnish  him  with  money  for  the  journey,  and  the  friar 
took  charge  of  his  youthful  son,  Diego,  to  maintain  and  educate 
him  in  the  convent.  Thus  aided  and  encouraged,  and  elated  with 
fresh  hopes,  Columbus  took  leave  of  the  little  junto  at  La  Rabida, 
and  set  out,  iu  the  spring  of  i486,  for  the  Castilian  court,  which 
had  just  assembled  at  Cordova,  where  the  sovereigns  were  fully 
occupied  with  their  chivalrous  enterprise  for  the 
conquest  of  Granada.      And  here  it  is  proper  to  -  ■> 

give  a  brief  description  of  these  princes,  who  per- 
formed such  an  important  part  in  the  events  of 
this  history. 


I  THE  CONVENT  OF   LA  RABIDA. 


VIEW  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  CORDOVA,   WITH   THE  OLD  ROMAN   BRIDGE   IN  THE  FOREGROUND. 


88 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


FERDINAND 


It  has  been  well  observed  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  that  they 
lived  together,  not  like  man  and  wife,  whose  estates  are  in  com- 
mon, under  the  orders  of  the  husband,  but  like  two  monarehs, 
strictly  allied.  They  had  separate  claims  to  sovereignty,  in  virtue 
of  their  separate  kingdoms,  and  held  separate  councils.  Yet  they 
were  so  happily  united  by  common  views,  common  interests,  and  a 

great  deference  for  each  other,  that  this 
double  administration  never  prevented 
a  unity  of  purpose  and  action.  All  acts 
of  sovereignty  were  executed  in  both 
their  names ;  all  public  writings  sub- 
scribed with  both  their  signatures  ;  their 
likenesses  were  stamped  together  on 
the  public  coin  ;  and  the  royal  seal  dis- 
played the  united  arms  of  Castile  and 
Arragon. 

Ferdinand  possessed  a  clear  and  com- 
prehensive genius,  and  great  penetra- 
tion. He  was  equable  in  temper,  inde- 
fatigable in  business,  a  great  observer  of 
men,  and  is  extolled  by  Spanish  wi  iters 
as  unparalleled  in  the  science  of  the 
cabinet.  It  has  been  maintained  by 
writers  of  other  nations,  however,  and 
apparently  with  reason,  that  he  was 
bigoted  in  religion,  and  craving  rather 
than  magnanimous  in  his  ambition ; 
the  catmouc.  p«,nt,»o  „v  bEOUe».  g«u.e«v  of  s»n  teu-o.  sev.lle.  that  he  made  war  less  like  a  paladin 
than  a.  prince,  less  for  glory  than  for  mere  dominion,  and  that 
his  policy  was  cold,  selfish,  and  artful.  He  was  called  the  wise 
and  prudent  in  Spain;  in  Italy,  the  pious;  in  France  and  England, 
the  ambitious  and  perfidious. 

Contemporary  writers  have  been  enthusiastic  in  their  descrip- 
tions of  Isabella,  but  time  has  sanctioned  their  eulogies.  She  was 
of  the  middle  size,  and  well  formed  ;  with  a  fair  complexion,  auburn 
hair,  and  clear  blue  eyes.  There  was  a  mingled  gravity  and  sweet- 
ness in  her  countenance,  and  a  singular  modesty,  gracing,  as  it 
did,  great  firmness  of  purpose  and  earnestness  of  spirit.  Though 
strongly  attached  to  her  husband,  and  studious  of  his  fame,  yet  she 


OF  COLUMBUS. 


§9 


always  maintained    her   distinct  rights  as  an  allied  prince.      She 

exceeded    him    in  beaut}',  personal  dignity,  acuteness    of    genius, 

and  grandeur   of  soul.     Combining  the 

active    and    resolute    qualities    of   man, 

with  the  softer  charities  of  woman,  she 

mineled  in  the  warlike  councils  of  her 

husband,    and,    being     inspired    with    a 

truer  idea  of  glory,  infused  a. more  lofty 

and    generous    temper    into    his    subtle 

and  calculating  policy. 

It  is  in  the  civil  history  of  their 
reign,  however,  that  the  character  of  Isa- 
bella shines  most  illustrious.  Her  foster- 
ing and  maternal  care  was  continually 
directed  to  reform  the  laws,  and  heal 
the  ills  engendered  by  a  long  course  of 
civil  wars.  She  assembled  round  her  the 
ablest  men  in  literature  and  science,  and 
directed  herself  by  their  counsels  in  en- 
couraging literature  and  the  arts.  She 
promoted  the  distribution  of  honors  and 
rewards  for  the  promulgation  of  knowl- 
edge, fostered  the  recently  invented  art 
of  printing,  and  through  her  patronage 
Salamanca  rose  to  that  eminence  which  it  assumed  among  the 
learned  institutions  of  the  age.  Such  was  the  noble  woman  who 
was  destined  to  acquire  immortal  renown  by  her  spirited  patron- 
age of  the  discovery  of  the  new  world. 


r® — "~-"~ 

. 

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y,     -{ 

Jlla 

m  :  x 

WffBm 
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pB 

9mSM 

f»^m':J&*-*~*. 

Ir-rt 

kiMs 

y '  *    '  /-=-«*. 

\ 

mk 

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:  ■ 

ISABELLA  THE  CATHOLIC.       Painting  by  BEOUER,  Gallery  of 


CHAPTER   VI. 


PROPOSITIONS   OF   COLUMBUS  TO   THE   COURT  OF   CASTILE. 

HEN  Columbus  arrived  at  Cordova,  he  found  it  in 
all  the  bustle  of  military  preparation.  The  two 
rival  Moorish  kings  of  Granada  had  formed  a  coali- 
tion, and  the  Castilian  sovereigns  had  summoned 
all  their  chivalry  to  assemble  for  a  grand  campaign. 
®ypip  Every  day  witnessed  the  arrival  of  some  Spanish 
noble,  with  a  splendid  retinue,  and  a  brilliant  array 
of  household  troops.  The  court  was  like  a  military 
camp;  every  avenue  was  crowded  by  warlike  gran- 
dees and  hardy  cavaliers,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  in  this 
Moorish  war.  This  was  an  unpropitious  moment  for  an  application 
like  that  of  Columbus.  Everybody  was  engrossed  by  the 
opening  campaign.  Even  Fernando  de  Talavera,  who 
.  j  was  to  have  been  his  great  patron  and  protector, 
1  >  and  his  organ  of  communication  with  the  sover- 
eigns, was  completely  taken  up  with 
military  concerns,  being  one  of  the 
clerical  advisers,  who  surrounded  the 
queen  in  this,  as  it  was  termed,  holy 
war.  The  letter  of  recommendation 
from  the  worthy  Fray  Juan  Perez, 
which  was  to  have  secured  the  powerful 
influence  of  Talavera,  seems  to  have  had 
but  little  effect  upon  the  prior,  who  list- 
ened coldly  to  Columbus,  and  looked 
upon  his  plan  as  extravagant  and  im- 
possible. 

So  far,  therefore,  from  receiving 
immediate  patronage  from  the  sover- 
eigns,   Columbus    found    it   impossible 

It  is  a  ques- 


to  obtain  even  a  hearing. 


(90) 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


91 


tion  even,  whether,  for  some  time,  his  application  reached  their 
ears.  If  Fernando  de  Talavera  did  mention  it  to  them,  it  must 
have  been  in  disparaging  terms,  such  as  rather  to  destroy  than 
excite  interest  in  its  favor.  The  campaign  opened  almost  im- 
mediately ;  the  king  took  the  field  in  person ;  the  queen  was  fully 
occupied  by  the  hurrying  concerns  of  the  war,  and  was  part  of  the 
time  present  in  the  camp; 
it  would  have  been  in  vain, 
therefore,  at  such  a  mo- 
ment, to  expect  attention 
to  a  scheme  of  foreign  dis- 
cover}-, founded  on  princi- 
ples which  required  calm 
and  learned  investigation. 
During  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  14S6,  Columbus 
remained  at  Cordova,  wait- 
ing for  a  more  favorable 
opportunity  to  urge  his 
suit,  and  trusting  to  time 
and  assiduity  to  gain  him 
converts  among  the  intelli- 
gent and  powerful.  He 
was  in  indigent  circum- 
stances, and  earned  a 
scanty  support  by  making 
maps  and  charts.  He  had 
to  contend  also  against  the 
ridicule  of  the  light  and 
the  supercilious,  which  is 
one  of  the  greatest  obsta- 
cles to   modest  merit  in  a 


COLUMBUS'  SOJOURN   IN  CORDOVA,   14 


1  SCOFFED  AT,  AS  A  MERE  DREAMER  AND  ADVENTURER.' 


court.  Some  scoffed  at 
him  as  a  mere  dreamer,  others  stigmatized  him  as  an  adventurer; 
the  very  children,  it  is  said,  pointed  to  their  foreheads  as  he  passed, 
being  taught  to  consider  him  a  kind  of  madman.  Indeed,  the 
slender  interest  on  which  he  had  founded  his  hopes  of  royal  patron- 
age, and  the  humble  garb  in  which  his  poverty  obliged  him  to  ap- 
pear, formed  a  preposterous  contrast,  in  the  eyes  of  the  courtiers, 

[6] 


92  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

with  the  magnificence  of  his  speculations.  "  Because  he  was  a 
foreigner,"  said  Oviedo,  "  and  went  but  in  simple  apparel,  nor 
otherwise  credited  than  by  the  letter  of  a  gray  friar,  they  believed 
him  not,  neither  gave  ear  to  his  words,  whereb}'  he  was  greatly 
tormented  in  his  imagination." 

While  thus  lingering  in  Cordova,  he  became  attached  to  Dona 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  a  lad)'  of  that  city,  of  a  noble  family.  Like  most 
of  the  circumstances  of  this  part  of  his  life,  his  connection  with 
this  lady  is  wrapped  in  obscurity,  but  appears  never  to  have  been 
sanctioned  by  marriage.  She  was  the  mother  of  his  second  son 
Fernando,  who  became  his  historian,  and  whom  he  always  treated 
on  terms  of  perfect  equality  with  his  legitimate  son  Diego. 

By  degrees  the  theory  of  Columbus  began  to  obtain  proselytes. 
The  attention  of  men  of  reflection  was  drawn  to  this  solitary  indi- 
vidual, who,  almost  unsupported,  was  endeavoring  to  make  his  way, 
with  so  singular  a  proposition,  to  the  foot  of  the  throne.  Whoever 
conversed  with  him,  was  struck  by  the  dignity  of  his  manners,  the 
earnest  sincerity  of  his  discourse,  and  the  force  of  his  reasoning. 
Alouzo  de  Ouintanilla,  comptroller  of  the  finances  of  Castile,  be- 
came a  warm  advocate  of  his  theory,  and  received  him  as  a  guest 
into  h'is  house.  He  was  countenanced  also  by  Antonio  Geraldini, 
the  pope's  nuncio,  and  his  brother,  Alexander  Geraldini,  preceptor 
to  the  younger  children  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  By  these 
friends  he  was  introduced  to  the  celebrated  Pedro  Gonzalez  de 
Mendoza,  archbishop  of  Toledo,  and  grand  cardinal  of  Spain. 
This  was  the  most  important  personage  about  the  court,  he  was 
always  with  the  king  and  queen,  who  never  took  any  measure  of 
consequence  without  consulting  him,  and  was  facetiously  called  the 
third  king  of  Spain.  He  was  an  elegant  scholar,  a  man  of  sound 
understanding,  and  of  great  quickness  and  capacity  in  business. 
The  clear-headed  cardinal  was  pleased  with  the  noble  and  earnest 
manner  of  Columbus;  he  listened  to  him  with  profound  attention, 
felt  the  importance  of  his  project  and  the  force  of  his  arguments, 
and  became  at  once  a  firm  and  serviceable  friend.  Through  his  in- 
tercession the  royal  audience  was  at  length  obtained. 

Columbus  appeared  in  the  presence  of  the  king  with  modesty, 
yet  self-possession,  inspired  by  a  consciousness-  of  the  dignity  and 
importance  of  his  errand ;  for  he  felt  himself,  as  he  afterwards  de- 
clared in  his  letters,  animated  as  if  by  a  sacred  fire  from  above,  and 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


95 


considered  himself  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  heaven  to  accom 
plish  its  grand  designs,     Ferdinand  was  too  keen  a  judge  of  men 
not   to   appreciate  the    character   of    Columbus.      He    per- 
ceived, also,  that  his  scheme  had  scienti" 
tical  foundations  ;  and  his  ambition  was 
the  possibility  of  discoveries  far  exceedin 
portance  those  which  had  shed  such  glor 
Portugal.     Still,   as    usual,   he   was    cool 
wary.     He  ordered  Fernando  de  Tala- 
vera,  the  prior  of  Prado,  to  assemble 
the  most  learned  astronomers  and  cos- 
mographers  of  the  kingdom, 
to    hold    a    conference    with 
Columbus.    They  were  to  ex- 
amine him  upon  the  grounds 
of  his  theory,  and  afterwards 
to  consult  together,  and  re- 
port their  opinion  as  to  its 
merits.     Columbus  now  con- 
sidered the  day  of  success  at 
hand;  he  had  been  deceived 
by  courtiers,  and  scoffed  at  as 
a  visionary  by  the  vulgar  and 
the  ignorant ;  but  he  was  now 
to    appear  before  a  body  of 
the    most    learned    and    en- 
lightened   men,    elevated,  as 
he    supposed,  above  all  nar- 
row prejudice  and  selfish  in- 
terest, and  capable  of  comprehending  the  full  scope  of  his  reason- 
ings.    From  the  dispassionate  examination  of  such  a  body  of  sages, 
he  could  not  but  anticipate  the  most  triumphant  verdict. 


CHURCH  OF  RT    ESTEBAN   (SANTA  DOMINGO)  IN  SALAMANCA,  WHERE  THE  PROJECT  OF  COLUMBUS  \ 

EXAMINED  BY  THE  JUNTA  OF  DOCTORS,  APPOINTED  BY  THE  QUEEN. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


COLUMBUS    BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL  AT  SALAMANCA. 


HE  interesting  conference  took  place  at  Salamanca,  the 
great  seat  of  learning  in  Spain.  It  was  held  in  the  Domin- 
ican convent  of  St.  Stephen,  the  most  scientific  college 
in  the  university,  in  which  Columbus  was  lodged  and 
entertained  with  great  hospitality  during  the  course  of  the  examina- 
tion. The  board  of  conference  was  composed  of  professors  of  the 
university,  together  with  various  dignitaries  of  the  church,  and 
learned  friars.  No  tribunal  could  bear  a  front  of  more  imposing 
wisdom ;  yet  Columbus  soon  discovered  that  ignorance  and  illiberal- 
ly may  sometimes  lurk  under  the  very  robes  of  science. 

The  greater  part  of  this  learned  junto,  it  would  appear,  came 
prepossessed  against  him,  as  men  in  place  and  dignity  are  apt  to  be 
against  poor  applicants.  There  is  always  a  proneness  to  consider  a 
man  under  examination  as  a  kind  of  delinquent,  or  impostor,  upon 
trial,  who  is  to  be  detected  and  exposed.  Columbus,  too,  appeared 
in  a  most  unfavorable  light  before  a  scholastic  body ;  an  obscure  nav- 
igator, member  of  no  learned  institution,  destitute  of  all  the  trap- 
pings and  circumstances  which  sometimes  give  oracular  authority 
to  dullness,  and  depending  upon  the  mere  force  of  natural  genius. 
Some  ot  the  assembly  entertained  the  popular  notion,  that  he  was 
an  adventurer,  or,  at  best,  a  visionary;  and  others  had  that  morbid 
impatience  of  any  innovation  upon  established  doctrine,  which  is 
apt  to  grow  upon  dull  and  pedantic  men  in  cloistered  life.  The 
hall  of  the  old  convent  presented  a  striking  spectacle.  A  simple 
mariner  standing  forth  in  the  midst  of  an  imposing  array  of  cler- 


(96) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


97 


ical  and  collegiate  sages  ;  maintaining  his  theory  with  natural  elo- 
quence, and,  as  it  were,  pleading  the  cause  of  the  new  world.  We 
are  told,  that  when  he  began  to  state  the  grounds  of  his  theory,  the 
friars  of  St.  Stephen  alone  paid  attention  to  him.  The  others 
appeared  to  have  intrenched  themselves  behind  one  dogged  posi- 
tion, namely,  that,  after  so  many  profound  philosophers  had  occu- 
pied themselves  in  geographical  investigations,  and  so  many  able 
navigators  had  been  voyaging  about  the  world  for  ages,  it  was  a 
great  presumption  in  an 
ordinary  man  to  suppose 
that  there  remained  such 
a  vast  discovery  for  him 
to  make. 

Several    of    the    objec- 
tions    opposed    by     this 
learned   body  have   been 
handed  down  to  us,  and 
have    provoked    many    a 
sneer   at  the  expense  of 
the    university    of    Sala- 
manca ;     but    they    are 
proofs  rather  of  the   imperfect  state 
of   science    at    the   time,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  knowledge,  though 
rapidly  advancing,  was  still  impeded 
in  its  progress  by  monastic  bigotiy. 
Thus,  at  the  very  threshold  of  the 
discussion,    Columbus    was    assailed 
with   citations    from    the   Bible,  and 
the  works  of  the  early  fathers  of  the 
church,  which  were  thought  incom- 
patible with  his  theory;  doctrinal  points  were  mixed 
up  with  philosophical  discussions,  and  even  a  mathe- 
matical demonstration  was  allowed  no   truth,  if  it 
appeared  to  clash  with  a  text  of  scripture,  or  a  com- 
mentary of  one  of  the  fathers.     Thus  the  possibility 
of  the  existence  of  antipodes  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere,   though    maintained    by    the    wisest    of  the 
ancients,  was  disputed  by  some  of  the  sages  of  Sala- 


THE  GATEWAY  TO  THE  ARCHIVES  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
SALAMANCA. 


9S  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

manca,  on  the  authority  of  Lactantius  and  St.  Augustine,*  those 
two  great  luminaries  of  what  has  been  called  the  golden  age  of 
ecclesiastical  learning.  "  Is  there  any  one  so  foolish,"  asks  Lac- 
tantius, "as  to  believe  that  there  are  antipodes  with  their  feet 
opposite  to  ours ;  people  who  walk  with  their  heels  upward 
and  their  heads  hanging  down  ?  That  there  is  a  part  of  the 
world  in  which  all  things  are  topsy-turvy;  where  the  trees  grow 
with  their  branches  downward,  and  where  it  rains,  hails,  and  snows 
upwards?  The  idea  of  the  roundness  of  the  earth,"  he  adds,  "was 
the  cause  of  inventing  this  fable ;  for  these  philosophers,  having 
once  erred,  go  on  in  their  absurdities,  defending  one  with  another." 

Objections  of  a  graver  nature,  and  more  dignified  tone,  were 
advanced  on  the  authority  of  St.  Augustine.  He  pronounces  the 
doctrine  of  antipodes  incompatible  with  the  historical  foundations 
of  our  faith  ;  since,  to  assert  that  there  were  inhabited  lands  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  globe,  would  be  to  maintain  that  there  were 
nations  not  descended  from  Adam,  it  being  impossible  for  them  to 
have  passed  the  intervening  ocean.  This  would  be,  therefore,  to 
discredit  the  Bible,  which  expressly  declares,  that  all  men  are  de- 
scended from  one  common  parent. 

Such  were  the  unlooked-for  prejudices  which  Columbus  had  to 
encounter,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  conference,  and  which  certainly 
savor  more  of  the  convent  than  the  university.  To  his  simplest 
proposition,  the  spherical  form  of  the  earth,  were  opposed  figura- 
tive texts  of  scripture.  In  the  psalms,  the  heavens  are  said  to  be 
extended  over  the  earth  like  a  hide,  that  is  to  say,  like  the  covering 
of  a  tent,  which,  among  the  ancient  pastoral  nations,  was  formed  of 
the  hides  of  animals.  St.  Paul  also,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
compares  the  heavens  to  a  tabernacle  or  tent  spread  over  the  earth ; 
hence  these  casuists  maintained  that  the  earth  must  be  flat,  like  the 
bottom  of  the  tent.  Others  admitted  the  globular  form  of  the  earth, 
and  the  possibility  of  an  opposite  and  inhabitable  hemisphere,  but 
maintained  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  arrive  there,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  heat  of  the  torrid  zone.  As  for  steering  to  the  west  in 
search  of  India,  they  observed  that  the  circumference  of  the  earth 
must  be  so  great  as  to  require  at  least  three  years  to  the  voyage, 
and  those   who   should   undertake   it   must   perish   of  hunger  and 

*  Two  celebrated  literati  of  the  church  of  the  4th  century.  Lactantius  was  an  Italian, 
and  Augustine  was  born  in  Tagaste,  Africa. 


(99) 


OF    COLUMBUS.  IOI 

thirst,  from  the  impossibility  of  carrying  provisions  for  so  long  a 
period.  Not  the  least  absurd  objection  advanced,  was,  that  should 
a  ship  even  succeed  in  reaching  the  extremity  of  India,  she  could 
never  get  back  again,  for  the  rotundity  of  the  globe  would  present 
a  kind  of  mountain,  up  which  it  would  be  impossible  for  her  to  sail 
with  the  most  favorable  wind. 

Such  are  specimens  of  the  errors  and  prejudices,  the  mingled 
error  and  erudition,  with  which  Columbus  had  to  contend,  through- 
out the  examination  of  his  theory.  Many  of  these  objections,  how- 
ever, which  appear  so  glaringly  absurd  at  the  present  day,  were 
incident  to  the  imperfect  state  of  knowledge  at  the  time.  The  ro- 
tundity of  the  earth  was  as  yet  a  matter  of  mere  speculation  ;  no 
one  could  tell  whether  the  ocean  were  not  of  too  vast  extent  to  be 
traversed ;  nor  were  the  laws  of  specific  gravity,  and  of  central 
gravitation,  ascertained,  by  which,  granting  the  earth  to  be  a 
sphere,  the  possibility  of  making  a  tour  of  it  would  be  manifest. 

When  Columbus  took  his  stand  before  this  learned  body,  he 
had  appeared  the  plain  and  simple  navigator,  somewhat  daunted, 
perhaps,  by  the  greatness  of  his  task,  and  the  august  nature  of  his 
auditory;  but  he  had  a  degree  of  religious  feeling,  which  gave  him 
a  confidence  in  the  execution  of  what  he  conceived  his  great 
errand,  and  he  was  of  an  ardent  temperament,  and  became  heated 
in  action  by  his  own  generous  fires.  All  the  objections  drawn  from 
ancient  philosophers,  he  met  boldly  and  upon  equal  terms,  for  he 
was  deeply  studied  on  all  points  of  cosmography,  and  he  disproved 
many  by  his  own  experience,  gathered  in  the  course  of  his  exten- 
sive voyages,  in  which  he  had  penetrated  both  the  torrid  and  the 
frozen  zone.  Nor  was  he  to  be  daunted  by  the  scriptural  difficulties 
opposed  to  him,  for  here  he  was  peculiarly  at  home.  His  contem- 
poraries have  spoken  of  his  commanding  person,  his  elevated  de- 
meanor, his  air  of  authority,  his  kindling  eye,  and  the  persuasive 
intonations  of  his  voice.  How  must  the}-  have  given  majesty  and 
force  to  his  words,  as,  casting  aside  his  maps  and  charts,  and  dis- 
carding, for  a  time,  his  practical  and  scientific  lore,  his  visionary 
spirit  took  fire,  and  he  met  his  doctrinal  opponents  upon  their  own 
ground,  pouring  forth  those  magnificent  texts  of  scripture,  and 
those  mysterious  predictions  of  the  prophets,  which,  in  his  enthu- 
siastic moments,  he  considered  as  types  and  annunciations  of  the 
sublime  discovery  which  he  proposed ! 


102  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

It  is  but  justice  to  add,  tbat  many  of  his  learned  hearers  were 
convinced  by  his  reasoning,  and  warmed  by  his  eloquence ;  among 
i;he  number  of  these  was  Diego  de  Deza,  a  worthy  friar  of  the  order 
of  St.  Dominic,  at  that  time  professor  of  theology  in  the  convent 
of  St.  Stephen,  but  who  became  afterwards  archbishop  of  Seville,  the 
second  ecclesiastical  dignitary  of  Spain.  He  was  an  able  and  erudite 
man,  above  the  narrow  bigotry  of  bookish  lore,  and  could  appreciate 
the  value  of  wisdom,  even  when  uttered  by  unlearned  lips.  He 
seconded  Columbus  Avith  all  his  powers  and  influence,  and  by  their 
united  efforts,  they  brought  over  several  of  the  most  intelligent  men 
of  the  assembly.  Still  there  was  a  preponderating  mass  of  inert 
bigotry,  and  learned  pride,  in  the  erudite  body,  which  refused  to 
yield  to  the  demonstrations  of  an  obscure  foreigner,  without  fortune 
or  connections,  or  any  academic  honors.  After  this  celebrated  ex- 
amination of  Columbus,  the  board  held  occasional  conferences,  but 
without  coining  to  any  decision ;  Fernando  de  Talavera,  to  whom 
the  matter  was  especially  intrusted,  had  too  little  esteem  for  it,  and 
was  too  much  occupied  by  the  stir  and  bustle  of  public  concerns,  to 
press  it  to  a  conclusion  ;  his  departure  with  the  court  from  Cordova, 
early  in  the  spring  of  14S7,  put  an  end  to  the  consultations,  and 
left  Columbus  in  a  state  of  the  most  tantalizing  suspense. 

For  several  years  he  followed  the  movements  of  the  court,  con- 
tinually flattered  with  hopes  of  success.  Conferences  were  sp- 
pointed  at  various  places,  but  the  tempest  of  warlike  affairs,  which 
hurried  the  court  from  place  to  place,  and  gave  it  the  bustle  and 
confusion  of  a  camp,  continually  swept  away  all  matters  of  less  im- 
mediate importance.  It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  these 
years  of  irksome  solicitation  were  spent  by  Columbus  in  the  drowsy 
attendance  of  ante-chambers ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  were 
passed  amidst  scenes  of  peril  and  adventure,  and,  in  following  the 
court,  he  was  led  into  some  of  the  most  striking  situations  of  this 
wild,  rugged  and  mountainous  war.  In  one  of  the  severest  cam- 
paigns, he  is  said  to  have  distinguished  himself  by  his  personal 
prowess.  He  was  present  at  the  sieges  and  surrenders  of  Malaga 
and  Baza,  and  beheld  El  Zagal,  the  elder  of  the  two  rival  kings  of 
Granada,  yield  up  his  crown  and  possessions  to  the  Spanish  sover- 
eigns. During  the  siege  of  Baza,  two  reverend  friars,  guardians  of 
the  holy  sepulchre  at  Jerusalem,  arrived  in  the  Spanish  camp,  bear- 
ing a  menace  from  the  Grand  Soldau  of  Egypt,  that  he  would  put 


COLUMBUS   DISTINGUISHES   HIMSELF   IN   ONE  OF  THE  SEVEREST   CAMPAIGNS  AGAINST    THE   MOORS,   BY   HIS 

PERSONAL   PROWESS. 


(103) 


io4 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


THE    HOLY   SEPULCHRE  AT 
JERUSALEM. 


to  death  all  the  Christians  in  his  dominions,  and  destroy  the  sepul- 
chre, if  the  sovereigns  did  not  desist  from  the  war  against  the  Mos- 
lems of  Granada.  It  is  probable  that  the  pious  indigna- 
tion excited  by  this  threat  in  the  bosom  of  Columbus, 
gave  the  first  rise  to  a  resolution  which  he  enter- 
tained to  the  da}-  of  his  death ;  this  was,  to  devote 
the    profits  which  he'  anticipated  from    his  dis- 


coveries, to  a  crusade  for  the  rescue  of  the  holy 
sepulchre. 

During  this  long  course  of  application, 
Columbus  partly  defrayed  his  expenses  by 
making  maps  and  charts.  He  was  occasionally 
assisted,  also,  by  the  purse  of  tlie  worthy  Friar 
Diego  de  Deza,  and  was  sometimes  a  guest  of 
Alonzo  de  Quintanilla.  It  is  due  to  the  sovereigns 
to  say,  also,  that  he  was  attached  to  the  royal  suite,  and 
sums  issued  to  defray  his  expenses,  and  lodgings  pro- 
vided for  him,  when  summoned  to  follow  this  rambling 
and  warlike  court.  Whenever  the  sovereigns  had  an  interval  of 
leisure,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  disposition  to  attend  to  his 
proposition ;  but  the  hurry  and  tempest  of  the  war  returned,  and 
the  question  was  again  swept  away. 

At  length,  in  the  winter  of  1491,  when  the  sovereigns  were 
preparing  to  depart  on  their  final  campaign  in  the  vega*  of  Granada, 

Columbus, 
losing  all  pa- 
tience, press- 
ed for  a  de- 
cisive reply, 
and  Fernan- 
do de  Tala- 
vera  was  or- 
dered, there- 
fore, to  hold 
a  final  con- 
ference, and 
to  report  the 

*Vega;    Span- 
ish, a  large  plain. 


THE   AL  CA2AR  OF   THE   FAIRIES;    CA6TLE  OF  THE   ALHAMBRA.   OVERLOOKING  THE  VEGA    OF    GRANADA. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


I05 


decision  of  his  learned  brethren.  He  obeyed,  and  informed  their 
majesties  that  the  majority  of  the  junto  condemned  the  scheme  as 
vain  and  impossible,  and  considered  it  unbecoming  such  great 
princes  to  engage  in  an  undertaking  of  the  kind,  on  such  weak 
grounds  as  had  been  advanced. 

A  degree  of  consideration,  however,  had  gradually  grown  up  at 
court  for  the  enterprise,  and  notwithstanding  his  tinfavorable  re- 
port, the  sovereigns  were  unwilling  to  close  the  door  on  a  project 
which  might  be  of  such  important  advantages.  They  informed 
Columbus,  therefore,  that  the  great  cares  and  expenses  of  the  war 
rendered  it  impossible  for  them  to  engage  in  any  new  enterprises 
for  the  present ;  but  that,  when  the  war  should  be  concluded,  they 
would  have  leisure  and  inclination  to  treat  with  him  concerning 
his  propositions. 

This  was  but  a  starved  reply  to  receive  after  so  many  years  of 
weary  attendance ;  Columbus  considered  it  a  mere  evasion  of  the 
sovereigns  to  relieve  themselves  from  his  importunity,  and,  giving 
up  all  hope  of  countenance  from  the  throne,  he  turned  his  back 
upon  Seville,  filled  with  disappointment  and  indignation. 


THE  COUNCIL  OF  SALAMANCA.     FROM  THE  MONUMENT  AT  GENOA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


COLUMBUS    SEEKS    PATRONAGE    AMONG    THE     SPANISH     GRANDEES.      RETURNS     TO    THE    CON- 
VENT  OF    LA    RABIDA.      RESUMES    HIS    NEGOTIATIONS   WITH   THE   SOVEREIGNS.      '1491.  . 


I  OLUMBUS  now  looked  round  in  search  of  some  other 
source  of  patronage.  He  had  received  favorable  letters 
both  from  the  kings  of  England  and  of  France  ;  the  king 
of  Portugal,  also,  had  invited  him  to  return  to  his  court ; 
but  he  appears  to  have  become  attached  to  Spain,  probably 
from  its  being  the  residence  of  Beatrix  Enriquez,  and 
his  children.  He  sought,  therefore,  to  engage  the  pat- 
ronage of  some  one  of  those  powerful  Spanish  grandees, 
who  had  vast  possessions,  exercised  feudal  rights,  and 
were  petty  sovereigns  in  their  domains.  Among  these, 
were  the  dukes  of  Medina  Sidonia,  and  Medina  Celi ;  both 
had  principalities  lying  along  the  seaboard,  with  armies  of  vassals, 
and  ports   and  shipping  at  their  command.     Columbus  had  many 

interviews  with  the  duke  of  Medina  Sido- 
nia, who  was  tempted  for  a  time  by  the 
splendid  prospects  held  out ;  but  their  very 
splendor  threw  a  coloring  of  exaggeration 
over  the  enterprise,  and  he  finally  rejected 
it  as  the  dream  of  an  Italian  visionary. 

The  duke  of  Medina  Celi  was  still  more 
favorable,  and  was  actually  on  the  point  of 
granting  him  three  or  four  caravels  which 
lay  ready  for  sea,  in  his  harbor  of  Port  St. 
Mary;  but  he  suddenly  changed  his  mind, 
fearing  to  awaken  the  jealousy  of  the  crown, 
and  to  be  considered  as  interfering  with  the 
views  of  the  sovereigns,  who  he  knew  had 
been  treating  with  Columbus.  He  advised 
him,  therefore,  to  return  once  more  to  court, 
and  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  queen  in  favor 
of  his  project. 


CHARLES  VIII.  OF 
THE 


FRANCE.      PAINTING  ON    WOOD   BY  AN    UNKNOWN  ARTIST   OF 
1STM  CENTURY.     PARIS,   PRIVATE  POSSESSION. 


(106) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


107 


Columbus  felt  averse  to  the  idea  of  subjecting  himself  again 
to  the  tantalizing  delays  and  disappointments  of  the  court,  and 
determined  to  .repair  to  Paris.  He  departed,  therefore,  for  the  con- 
vent of  La  Rabida,  to  seek  his  oldest  son  Diego,  and  leave  him  with 
his  other  son  at  Cordova. 

When  the  worthy  Friar  Juan  Perez 
de  Marchena  beheld  Columbus  arrive 
once  more  at  the  gate  of  his  convent, 
after  nearly  seven  years'  fruitless  solici- 
tation at  the  court,  and  saw,  by  the 
humility  of  his  garb,  the  poverty  he 
had  experienced,  he  was  greatly  moved ; 
but  when  he  found  that  he  was  on  the 
point  of  leaving  Spain,  and  carrying 
his  proposition  to  another  country,  his 
patriotism  took  the  alarm.  He  had 
been  confessor  to  the  queen,  and  knew 
her  to  be  always  accessible  to  persons 
of  his  sacred  calling.  He  wrote  a  letter 
to  her,  therefore,  earnestly  vindicating 
the  proposed  scheme,  and  conjuring  her 
not  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  a  matter  of 
such  vast  importance ;  and  he  prevailed 
upon  Columbus  to  delay  his  journey 
iiutil  an  answer  should  be  received. 

The  ambassador  chosen  by  the 
little  junto  of  the  convent  was  one  Se- 
bastian Rodriguez,  a  pilot  of  Lepe, 
who  acquitted  himself  faithfully,  ex- 
peditiously, and  successfully,  in  his 
embassy.  He  found  access  to  the  be- 
nignant princess  in  the  royal  camp  at 
Santa  Fe,  before  Granada,  and  delivered 
the  epistle  of  the  friar.  He  returned  in 
fourteen  days,  with  a  letter  from  the 
queen,  thanking  Juan  Perez  for  his 
timely  services,  and  requesting  him  to  repair  immediately  to 
the  court,  leaving  Columbus  in  confident  hope  of  hearing  farther 
from  her.     This  royal  epistle  caused  great  exultation  in  the  con- 


LA   RABIDA  PREVAILS  UPON  COLUMBUS  TO  DELAY  HIS  DEPARTURE  FOR 
PARIS.     PAINTING  BY   D.  JUAN   LLIMONA   f  BRUQUERA. 


ioS 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


m 


f'-'h 


vent.     No   sooner  did  the  warm-hearted  friar  receive  it,  than  he   pro- 
cured a  mule,  and  departed  instantly,  before  midnight,  for  the  court. 
His  sacred  office,  and  his  former  relation  as  father  confessor,  gave  him 
immediate  admission  to  the  queen,  and  great  freedom  of  counsel.     It 
is  probable  Isabella  had  never  heard  the  proposition  of  Columbus  urged 
with  such  honest  zeal  and  impressive  eloquence.     She  was  naturally 
more  sanguine  and  susceptible  than  the  king,  and  more  open  to  warm 
and  generous    impulses.     Moved    by  the   representations  of  Juan 
Perez,  she  requested  that  Columbus  might  be  again  sent   to  her, 
and   kindly  bethinking  herself  of  his   poverty,  and  his   humble 
plight,  ordered  that  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  should  be  forwarded 
to  him  to  defray  his  traveling  expenses,  to  provide   him  with   a 
mule   for  his  journey,  and   to  furnish  him  with  decent  raiment, 
that  he  might  make  a  respectable  appearance  at  the  court.     Colum- 
bus lost  no  time  in  complying  with  the  commands  of  the  queen.     He 
exchanged  his  threadbare  garment  for  one  of  more  courtly 
texture,  and,  purchasing  a  mule,  set  out  once  more,  re- 
animated by  fresh  hopes,  for  the  camp  before  Granada. 
\J  He  arrived  in  time  to  witness  the  memorable  sur- 

render of  that  capital  to  the   Spanish  arms.     He  beheld  Boabdil  el 
Chico,  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings,  sally  forth  from  the  Alhambra, 
and  yield  up  the  keys  of  that   favorite  seat  of  Moslem 
power ;  while  the  king  and  queen,  with  all  the  chivalry 
and  magnificence  of  Spain,  moved  forward  in  proud  and 
solemn  procession,  to  receive  this  token  of  submission.    It  was  one 
of  the  most    brilliant  triumphs  in    Spanish  history.     The  air  re- 
sounded with  shouts  of  joy,  with  songs  of  triumph  and  hymns  of 
thanksgiving.     On  every  side  were  beheld  military  rejoicings  and 
religious  oblations.     The  court  was  thronged  by  the  most  illustrious 
of  that  warlike  country,  and  stirring  era ;  by  the  flower  of  its  no- 
bility, the  most  dignified  of  its  prelacy,  by  bards  and  minstrels,  and 
all  the  retinue  of  a  romantic  and  picturesque  age. 

During  this  brilliant  and  triumphant  scene,  says  an  elegant 
Spanish  writer,  "A  man,  obscure  and  but  little  known,  followed 
the  coiirt.  Confounded  in  the  crowd  of  importunate  applicants, 
and  feeding  his  imagination,  in  the  corners  of  antechambers,  with 
the  pompous  project  of  discovering  a  world,  he  was  melancholy 
and  dejected  in  the  midst  of  the  general  rejoicing,  and  beheld  with 
indifference,  almost  with  contempt,  the  conclusion  of  a  conquest 


SWORD   OF    BOABDIL. 
ROYAL    ARSENAL,    MADRID. 


o 

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H 

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J 

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H 

fa 

O 
m 
> 
Id 
« 

Id 
X 
H 

GO 

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Q 
Z 

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o 
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D 

en 
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dog) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


Ill 


which  swelled  all  bosoms  with  jubilee,  and  seemed  to  have 
the  utmost  bounds  of  desire.  That  man  was  Christopher 
bus." 

The  moment  had  now  arrived,  how- 
ever, when  the  monarehs  stood  pledged  to 
attend  to  his  proposals.  They  kept  their 
word,  and  persons  of  confidence  were  ap- 
pointed to  negotiate  with  him,  among 
whom  was  Fernando  de  Talavera,  who,  by 
the  recent  conquest,  had  risen  to  be  arch- 
bishop of  Granada.  At  the  very  outset  of 
their  negotiation,  however,  unexpected 
difficulties  arose.  The  principal  stipula- 
tion of  Columbus  was,  that  he  should  be 
invested  with  the  titles  and  privileges  of 
admiral  and  viceroy,  over  the  countries  he 
should  discover,  with  one  tenth  of  all 
gains,  either  by  trade  or  conquest.  The 
courtiers  who  treated  with  him,  were  in- 
dignant at  such  a  demand  from  one  whom 
they  had  considered  a  need}'  adventurer. 


reached 
Colum- 


One    observed    with    a 
sneer,   that  it   was  a 


BOABOIL    "EL    CHICO,"    LAST    KING    OF    THE 
PAINTING    FROM    THE    FLEMISH    SCHOOL   OF    THE    1 


MOORS. 

7TH    CENTURY. 


shrewd  arrangement  which  he  proposed,  where- 
by he  was  certain  of  the  profits  and  honors  oft 
a  command,  and  had  nothing  to  lose  in  case  of 
failure.    To  this  Columbus  promptly  replied, 
by  offering  to    furnish   one   eighth  of   the 
cost,  on  condition  of  enjoying  an  eighth 
of  the  profits.     His  terms,  however,  were 
pronounced     inadmissible,     and     others 
were  offered,  of  more  moderate  nature, 
but  he  refused  to  cede  one  point  of  his 
demands,  and  the  negotiation  was  broken 
off. 

It  is  impossible  not   to   admire   the 

great  constancy  of  purpose,  and  loftiness 

of   spirit,    here    displayed    by    Columbus. 

Though   so    large    a    portion  of   life    had 


COAT    OF    MAIL    OF    BOABDiL, 
ROYAL    ARSENAL,   MADRID- 


112  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

worn  away  in  fruitless  soliciting,  during  which  he  had  experienced 
the  bitterness  of  poverty,  neglect,  ridicule,  and  disappointment ; 
though  there  was  no  certainty  that  he  would  not  have  to  enter 
upon  the  same  career  at  any  other  court ;  yet  nothing  could  shake 
his  perseverance,  or  make  him  descend  to  terms  which  he  con- 
sidered beneath  the  dignity  of  his  enterprise.  Indignant  at  the 
repeated  disappointments  he  had  experienced  in  Spain,  he  now 
determined  to  abandon  it  forever,  and  mounting  his  mule,  sallied 
forth  from  Santa  Fe,*  on  his  way  to  Cordova,  with  the  intention  of 
immediately  proceeding  from  thence  to  France. 

When  the  few  friends,  who  were  zealous  believers  in  the  the- 
ory of  Columbus,  saw  him  on  the  point  of  abandoning  the  country, 
they  were  filled  with  distress.  Among  the  number  was  Luis  de  St. 
Angel,  receiver  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  of  Arragon,  and  Alonzo 
de  Quintanilla,  who  determined  to  make  one  bold  effort  to  avert  the 
evil.  They  hastened  to  the  queen,  and  St.  Angel  addressed  her  with 
a  courage  and  eloquence  inspired  by  the  exigency  of  the  moment.  He 
did  not  confine  himself  to  entreaties,  but  almost  mingled  reproaches. 
He  expressed  his  astonishment  that  a  queen  who  had  evinced  the 
spirit  to  undertake  so  many  great  and  perilous  enterprises,  should 
hesitate  at  one  where  the  loss  could  be  but  trifling,  while  the  gain 
might  be  incalculable ;  for  all  that  was  required  for  this  great  expe- 
dition was  but  two  vessels,  and  about  thirty  thousand  crowns,  and 
Columbus  himself  had  offered  to  bear  an  eighth  of  the  expense.  He 
reminded  her  how  much  might  be  done  for  the  glory  of  God,  the 
promotion  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  extension  of  her  own  power 
and  dominion,  should  this  enterprise  be  adopted ;  but  what  cause  of 
regret  it  would  be  to  herself,  of  sorrow  to  her  friends,  and  triumph 
to  her  enemies,  should  it  be  rejected  by  her,  and  accomplished  by 
some  other  power.  He  vindicated  the  judgment  of  Columbus,  and 
the  soundness  and  practicability  of  his  plans,  and  observed,  that 
even  a  failure  would  reflect  no  disgrace  upon  the  crown.  It  was 
worth  the  trouble  and  expense  to  clear  up  even  a  doubt,  upon  a 
matter  of  such  importance,  for  it  belonged  to  enlightened  and  mag- 
nanimous princes,  to  investigate  questions  of  the  kind,  and  to  ex- 
plore the  wonders  and  secrets  of  the  universe. 

These,  and  many  more  arguments,  were  urged,  with  that  per- 

*  Santa  F6,  was  a  camp  town  on  the  Jenil,  near  Granada,  occupied  by  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella. 


(H3) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


1*5 


suasive  power  which  honest  zeal  imparts.  The  generous  spirit  of 
Isabella  was  enkindled,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  subject,  for  the  first 
time,  broke  upon  her  mind  in  its  real  grandeur.  She  declared  her 
resolution  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  but  paused  for  a  moment, 
remembering  that  King  Ferdinand  looked  coldly  on  the  affair,  and 
that  the  royal  treasury  was  absolutely  drained  by  the  war.  Her 
suspense  was  but  momentary.  With  an  enthusiasm  worthy  of 
herself  and  of  the  cause,  she  exclaimed,  "I  undertake  the  enter- 
prise for  my  own  crown  of  Castile,  and  will  pledge  my  jewels  to 
raise  the  necessary  funds."  This  was  the  proudest  moment  in  the 
life  of  Isabella;  it  stamped  her  renown  forever  as  the  patroness  of 
the  discover}'  of  the  New  World. 

St.  Angel,  eager  to  secure  this  favorable  resolution,  assured 
her  majesty  that  there  would  be  no  need  of  pledging  her  jewels,  as 
he  was  ready  to  advance  the  necessary  funds,  as  a  loan,  from  the 
treasury  of  Arragon ;  his  offer  was  gladly  accepted. 

Columbus  had  proceeded  on  his  solitary  journey  across  the 
vega*  of  Granada,  and  had  reached  the  bridge  of  Pinos,  about  two 
leagues  from  that  city,  a  pass  famous  for  bloody  encounters  during 
the  Moorish  wars.  Here  he  was  overtaken  by  a  courier  sent  after 
him  in  all  speed  by  the  queen,  requesting  him  to  return  to  Santa 
Fe.  He  hesitated,  for  a  moment,  to  subject  himself  again  to  the 
delays  and  equivocations  of  the  court ;  but  when  he  was  informed 
that  Isabella  had  positively  undertaken  the  enterprise,  and  pledged 
her  royal  word,  ever}-  doubt  was  dispelled,  he  turned  the  reins  of 
his  mule,  and  hastened  back  joyfully  to  Santa  Fe,  confiding  im- 
plicitly in 
the  noble 
probity  of 
that  prin- 
cess. 

*  Vega  (Span- 
ish) a  fertile 
plain.  The  plain 
around  Granada 
measures  32 
miles  in  circum- 
ference. 


THE  RECALL  OF  COLUMBUS  AT  THE  BRIDGE  OF  PINOS.     DRAWING  BY  F.  H.  LUNGREN. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


ARRANGEMENT  WITH   THE   SPANISH    SOVEREIGNS.      PREPARATION    FOR   THE    EXPEDITION   AT 

THE    PORT  OF    PALOS.      11492.) 


king 
this 


N    arriving    at    Santa    Fe,  Columbus    had    an    immediate 

audience  of  the  queen,  and  the  benignity  with  which  she 

received    him,    atoned    for    all    past    neglect.      Through 

deference  to  the  zeal   she  thus  suddenly  displayed,  the 

yielded  his  tardy  concurrence,  but  Isabella  was  the   soul  of 

grand  enterprise.     She  was  prompted  by  lofty  and  generous 

enthusiasm,  while  the  king  re- 
mained cold  and  calculating,  in 
this  as  in  all  his  other  under- 
takings. 

A  perfect  understanding  be- 
ing thus  effected  with  the  sover- 
eigns, articles  of  agreement  were 
drawn  out  by  Juan  de  Coloma, 
the  royal  secretary.  They  were 
to  the  following  effect :  — 

i.  That  Columbus  should 
have,  for  himself,  during  his 
life,  and  his  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors forever,  the  office  of 
high  admiral  in  all  the  seas, 
lands,  and  continents,  he  might 
discover,  with  similar  honors 
and  prerogatives  to  those  en- 
joyed by  the  high  admiral  of 
Castile  in  his  district. 

2.  That  he  should  be  viceroy 
and  governor-general  over  all 
the  said  lands  and  continents, 
with    the  privilege  of  nominat- 


ISABELLA  THE  CATHOLIC. 

PORTRAIT  FORMERLY  IN   POSESSION  OF  THE   CARTHUSIAN  CLOISTER  OF   MIRAFLORES  IN    BURGOS. 

NOW  THE   PROPERTY   OF  THE  MARQUIS  DE   PEOAL. 
(Il6l 


("7) 


OF    COLUMBUS.  I  1 9 

ing  three  candidates  for  the  government  of  each  island  or  province, 
one  of  whom  should  be  selected  by  the  sovereigns. 

3.  That  he  should  be  entitled  to  one-tenth  of  all  free  profits, 
arising  from  the  merchandise  and  productions  of  the  countries 
within  his  admiralty. 

4.  That  he,  or  his  lieutenant,  should  be  the  sole  judge  of  causes 
and  disputes  arising  out  of  traffic  between  those  countries  and 
Spain. 

5.  That  he  might  then,  and  at  all  aftertimes,  contribute  an 
eighth  part  of  the  expense  of  expeditions  to  sail  to  the  countries 
he  expected  to  discover,  and  should  receive  in  consequence  an 
eighth  part  of  the  profits. 

These  capitulations  were  signed  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  at 
the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  in  the  vega  or  plain  of  Granada,  on  the  17th  of 
April,  1492.  All  the  royal  documents,  issued  in  consequence,  bore 
equally  the  signatures  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  but  her  separate 
crown  of  Castile  defrayed  all  the  expense.  As  to  the  money  ad- 
vanced by  St.  Angel  out  of  the  treasury  of  King  Ferdinand,  that 
prudent  monarch  indemnified  himself,  some  few  years  afterwards, 
by  employing  some  of  the  first  gold  brought  by  Columbus  from  the 
new  world  to  gild  the  vaults  and  ceilings  of  the  grand  saloon,  in 
his  royal  palace  of  Saragossa,  in  Arragon. 

One  of  the  great  objects  held  out  by  Columbus  in  his  under- 
taking, was,  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  expected 
to  arrive  at  the  extremity  of  Asia,  or  India,  as  it  was  then  gener- 
ally termed,  at  the  vast  empire  of  the  Grand  Khan,  of  whose  mari- 
time provinces  of  Mangi  and  Cathay,  and  their  dependent  islands, 
since  ascertained  to  be  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  China,  the  most 
magnificent  accounts  had  been  given  by  Marco  Polo.  Various  mis- 
sions had  been  sent,  in  former  times,  by  popes  and  pious  sover- 
eigns, to  instruct  this  oriental  potentate,  and  his  subjects,  in  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  Columbus  hoped  to  effect  this  grand 
work,  and  to  spread  the  light  of  the  true  faith  among  the  barbarous 
countries  and  nations  that  were  to  be  discovered  in  the  unknown 
parts  of  the  East.  Isabella,  from  pious  zeal,  and  Ferdinand  from 
mingled  notions  of  bigotry  and  ambition,  accorded  with  his  views, 
and  when  he  afterwards  departed  on  this  voyage,  letters  were  actu- 
ally given  him,  by  the  sovereigns,  for  the  Grand  Khan  of  Tartary. 

The  ardent  enthusiasm  of  Columbus  did  not  stop  here.     Recol- 


120 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


lecting  the  insolent  threat  once  made  by  the  soldan  of  Egypt,  to 
destroy  the  holy  sepulchre  at  Jerusalem,  he  proposed  that  the 
profits  which  might  arise  from  his  discoveries,  should  be  consecrated 
to  a  crusade  for  the  rescue  of  the  holy  edifice  from  the  power  of  the 
Infidels.  The  sovereigns  smiled  at  this  sally  of  the  imagination, 
and  expressed  themselves  well  pleased  with  the  idea ;  but  what  they 
may  have  considered  a  mere  momentary  thought,  was  a  deep  and 
cherished  design  of  Columbus.  It  is  a  curious  and  characteristic 
fact,  which  has  never  been  particularly  noticed,  that  the  recovery  of 
the  hoi}'  sepulchre  was  the  leading  object  of  his  ambition,  meditated 
throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  solemnly  provided  for  in 
his  will,  and  that  he  considered  his  great  discovery  but  as  a  prepar- 
atory dispensation  of  Providence,  to  furnish  means  for  its  accom- 
plishment. 

The  port  of  Palos  de  Moguer,  in  Andalusia,  was  fixed  upon  as 
the  place  where  the  armament  for  the  expedition  was  to  be  fitted 
out,  the  community  of  the  place  being  obliged,  in  consequence  of 
some  misdemeanor,  to  serve  the  crown  for  one  year  with  two  armed 
caravels.  A  royal  order  was  issued,  commanding  the  authorities  of 
Palos  to  have  these  caravels  ready  for  sea  within  ten  days,  and  to 
yield  them  and  their  crews  to  the  command  of  Columbus.  The 
latter  was  likewise  empowered  to  fit  out  a  third  vessel ;  nor  was  any 
restriction  put  upon  his  voyage,  excepting  that  he  should  not  go  to 
the  coast  of  Guinea,  or  any  other  of  the  lately  discovered  possessions 
of  Portugal.  Orders  were  likewise  issued  by  the  sovereigns,  com- 
manding the  inhabitants  of  the  seaboard  of  Andalusia,  to  furnish 
supplies  and  assistance  of  all  kinds  for  the  expedition,  at  a  reason- 
able rate,  and  threatening  severe  penalties  to  such  as  should  cause 
any  impediment. 

As  a  mark  of  particular  favor  to  Columbus,  Isabella,  before  his 
departure  from  the  court,  appointed  his  son  Diego  page  to  Prince 
Juan,  the  heir  apparent,  an  honor  granted  only  to  the  sons  of  per- 
sons of  distinguished  rank.  Thus  grati- 
fied in  his  dearest  wishes,  Columbus  took 
leave  of  the  court  on  the  12th  of  May, 
and  set  out  joyfully  for  Palos.  Let  those 
who  are  disposed  to  faint  under  diffi- 
culties, in  the  prosecution  of  any  great 
and  worthy  undertaking,  remember  that 


IN    THE    ANTE-CHAMBER    OF     ROYALTY.       PAGES    IN    WAITING. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


121 


eighteen  years  elapsed  after  Colum- 
bus conceived  his  enterprise,  before 
he  was  enabled  to  carry  it  into  effect, 
that  the  most  of  that  time  was  passed 
in  almost  hopeless  solicitation,  amidst 
poverty,  neglect,  and  taunting  ridi- 
cule ;  that  the  prime  of  his  life  had 
wasted  away  in  the  struggle ;  and 
that  when  his  perseverance  was 
finally  crowned  with  success,  he  was 
about  fifty-six  years  of  age.  His  ex- 
ample should  teach  the  enterprising 
never  to  despair. 

When  Columbus  arrived  at  Palos, 
and  presented  himself  once  more 
before  the  gates  of  the  convent  of  La 
Rabida,  he  was  received  with  open 
arms  by  the  worthy  Juan  Perez,  and 
again  entertained  as  his  guest.  The 
zealous  friar  accompanied  him  to  the 
parochial  church  of  St.  George,  in 
Palos,  where  Columbus  caused  the 
royal  order  for  the  caravels  to  be  read  by  a  notary  public,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  authorities  of  the  place.  Nothing  could  equal  the  aston- 
ishment and  horror  of  the  people  of  this  maritime  community,  when 
they  heard  of  the  nature  of  the  expedition,  in  which  they  were 
ordered  to  engage.  They  considered  the  ships  and  crews  demanded 
of  them,  in  the  light  of  sacrifices  devoted  to  destruction.  All  the 
frightful  tales  and  fables  with  which  ignorance  and  superstition  are 
prone  to  people  obscure  and  distant  regions,  were  conjured  up  con- 
cerning the  unknown  parts  of  the  deep,  and  the  boldest  seamen 
shrunk  from  such  a  wild  and  chimerical  cruise  into  the  wilderness 
of  the  ocean. 

Repeated  mandates  were  issued  by  the  sovereigns,  ordering  the 
magistrates  of  Palos,  and  the  neighboring  town  of  Moguer,  to  press 
into  the  service  any  Spanish  vessels  and  crews  they  might  think 
proper,  and  threatening  severe  punishments  on  all  who  should 
prove  refractory.  It  was  all  in  vain,  the  communities  of  those 
places  were  thrown  into  complete  confusion,  tumults  and  alterca- 


A   PAGE   OF   THE    15TM    CENTURY. 


122 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


NOTARY   PUBLC,   READ'NG  THE  ROYAL  ORDER  FOR  THE 
CARAVELS,  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  PALOS. 


tions  took  place,  but  nothing  of  consequence  was 
effected. 

At  length,  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  the  wealthy 
and  enterprising  navigator,  who  has  already  been 
mentioned,  came  forward  and  engaged  personally 
in  the  expedition.  He  and  his  brother  Vincente 
Yanez  Pinzon,  who  was  likewise  a  navigator  of 
great  courage  and  ability,  possessed  vessels,  and 
had  seamen  in  their  employ.  They  were  related 
to  many  of  the  seafaring  inhabitants  of  Palos  and 
Moguer,  and  had  great  influence  throughout  the 
neighborhood.  It  is  supposed  that  they  furnished 
Columbus  with  funds  to  pay  the  eighth  share  of 
the  expense,  which  he  had  engaged  to  advance. 
They  furnished  two  of  the  vessels  required,  and 
determined  to  sail  in  the  expedition.  Their  ex- 
ample and  persuasions  had  a  wonderful  effect ;  a 
great  many  of  their  relations  and  friends  agreed 
to  embark,  and  the  vessels  were  ready  for  sea  within  a  month  after 
the)'  had  engaged  in  their  enterprise. 

During  the  equipment  of  the  armament,  various  difficulties  oc- 
curred. A  third  vessel,  called  the  Pinta,  had  been  pressed  into  the 
service,  with  its  crew.  The  owners,  Gomez  Rascon,  and  Christoval 
Quintero,  were  strongly  repugnant  to  the  voyage,  as  were  most  of 
the  mariners  under  them.  These  people,  and  their  friends,  endeav- 
ored in  various  ways  to  retard  or  defeat  the  vo)^age.  The  caulkers 
did  their  work  in  a  careless  manner,  and,  on  being  ordered  to  do  it 
over  again,   absconded;    several  of  the  seamen  who  had  enlisted 

repented     and 


willingly, 
deserted.  Every  thing 
had  to  be  effected  by 
harsh  and  arbitrary  meas- 
ures, and  in  defiance  of 
popular  opposition. 

At  length,  by  the  be- 
ginning of  August,  every 
difficulty  was  vanquished, 
and  the  vessels  were  ready 
for  sea.     After  all  the  ob- 


MULL   OF    A   LARGE    OCEAN    BOAT   ON    THE    DRV    DOCK,  END   OF    THE    15TH   CENTURY. 
COPIED    FROM    A      CONTEMPORARY    ENGRAVING. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


125 


jections  made  by  various  courts,  to  undertake  this  expedition,  it  is 
surprising  how  inconsiderable  an  armament  was  required.  Two  of 
the  vessels  were  light  barques,  called  caravels,  not  superior  to  river 
and  coasting  craft  of  modern  days.  They  were  built  high  at*  the 
prow  and  stern,  with  forecastles  and  cabins  for  the  crew,  but  were 
without  deck  in  the  centre.  Only  one  of  the  three,  called  the 
Santa  Maria,  was  completely  decked,  on  board  of  which  Columbus 
hoisted  his  flag.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  commanded  one  of  the 
caravels,  called  the  Pinta,  and  was  accompanied  by  his  brother, 
Francisco  Martin,  as  mate  or  pilot.  The  other,  called  the  Nina, 
had  latine  sails,*  and  was  commanded  by  Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon; 
on  board  of  this  vessel  went  Garcia  Fernandez,  the  physician  of 
Palos,  in  the  capacity  of  steward.  There  were  three  other  able  pilots, 
Sancho  Ruiz,  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino,  and  Bartholomew  Roldan,  and  the 
whole  number  of  persons  embarked  was  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  squadron  being  ready  to  put  to  sea,  Columbus  confessed 
himself  to  the  friar  Juan  Perez,  and  partook  of  the  communion, 
and  his  example  was  followed  by  the  officers  and  crews,  committing 
themselves,  with  the  most  devout  and  affecting  ceremonials,  to  the 
especial  guidance  and  protection  of  Heaven,  in  this  perilous  enter- 
prise. A  deep  gloom  was  spread  over  the  whole  community  of 
Palos,  for  almost  every  one  had  some  relation  or  friend  on  board  of 
the  squadron.  The  spirits  of  the  seamen,  already  depressed  by 
their  own  fears,  were  still 
more  cast  down,  at  behold- 
ing the  affliction  of  those 
they  left  behind,  who  took 
leave  of  them  with  tears  and 
lamentations  and  dismal 
forebodings,  as  of  men  they 
were  never  to  behold  again. 

*  Three  cornered  sails,  also  called 
reed  sails.  They  hang  on  a  tree,  fasten- 
ed in  a  diagonal  manner  to  the  mast. 


MULL  OF  A   LARGE  OCEAN  80AT,   ABOUT   1500  A.   0. 

COPIED  FROM  THE  COAT  OF  ARMS  OF  JOHN  SEGKER.      REDUCED  FAC-SlMILE  OF  A  WOODCUT,  FROM 

THE  SCHOOl.OF  ALBRECHT  OURER. 


NTA.     RESTORED  FROM  THE  MODELS  IN  THE  MARINE  MUSEUM,   MADRID. 


CHAPTER   X. 


EVENTS   OF  THE    FIRST   VOYAGE.      DISCOVERY  OF    LAND.      '1492.1 


T  was  early  in  the  rnoriiiug  of  Friday,  the  3d  of  August, 
1492,  that  Columbus  set  sail  from  the  bar  of  Saltes,  a 
small  island  formed  by  the  rivers  Odiel  and  Tinto,  in 
front  of  Palos,  steering  for  the  Canary  Islands,  from 
whence  he  intended  to  strike  due  west.  As  a  guide  by 
which  to  sail,  he  had  the  conjectural  map  or  chart,  sent 
him  by  Paolo  Toscanelli  of  Florence.  In  this  it  is  sup- 
posed the  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa,  from  the  south 
of  Ireland  to  the  end  of  Guinea,  were  delineated  as  im- 
mediately opposite  to  the  extremity  of  Asia,  while  the  great  island 
of  Cipango,  described  by  Marco  Polo,  lay  between  them,  fifteen 
hundred  miles  from  the  Asiatic  coast ;  at  this  island  Columbus 
expected  first  to  arrive. 

On  the  third  day  after  setting  sail,  the  Pinta  made  signal  of 
distress,  her  rudder  being  broken  and  unhung.  This  was  suspected 
to  have  been  done  through  the  contrivance  of  the  owners,  Gomez 


(126) 


OF     COLUMBUS.  127 

Rascon  and  Christoval  Quintero,  to  disable  the  vessel,  and  cause 
her  to  be  left  behind.  Columbus  was  much  disturbed  at  this  occur- 
rence. It  gave  him  a  foretaste  of  the  difficulties  to  be  apprehended, 
from  people  partly  enlisted  on  compulsion,  and  full  of  doubt  and 
foreboding.  Trivial  obstacles  might,  in  this  early  stage  of  the  voy- 
age, spread  panic  and  mutiny  through  his  crews,  and  induce  them 
to  renounce  the  prosecution  of  the  enterprise. 

Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  who  commanded  the  Pinta,  secured  the 
rudder  with  cords,  but  these  fastenings  soon  gave  way,  and  the  car- 
avel proving  defective  in  other  respects,  Columbus  remained  three 
weeks  cruising  among  the  Canary  Islands,  in  search  of  another  ves- 
sel to  replace  her.  Not  being  able  to  find  one,  the  Pinta  was  re- 
paired, and  furnished  with  a  new  rudder.  The  latine  sails  of  the 
Nina  were  also  altered  into  square  sails,  that  she  might  work  more 
steadily  and  securely.  While  making  these  repairs,  and  taking  in 
wood  and  water,  Columbus  was  informed  that  three  Portuguese  car- 
avels had  been  seen  hovering  off  the  island  of  Ferro.  Dreading 
some  hostile  stratagem,  on  the  part  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  in  re- 
venge for  his  having  embarked  in  the  service  of  Spain,  he  put  to 
sea  early  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  September,  but  for  three 
days  a  profound  calm  detained  the  vessels  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  land.  This  was  a  tantalizing  delay,  for  Columbus  trembled 
lest  something  should  occur  to  defeat  his  expedition,  and  was  impa- 
tient to  find  himself  far  upon  the  ocean,  out  of  sight  of  either  land 
or  sail ;  which,  in  the  pure  atmosphere  of  these  latitudes,  may  be 
descried  at  an  immense  distance. 

On  Sunday,  the  9th  of  September,  as  day  broke,  he  beheld 
Ferro  about  nine  leagues  distant ;  he  was  in  the  very  neighbor- 
hood, therefore,  where  the  Portuguese  caravels  had  been  seen. 
Fortunately  a  breeze  sprang  up  with  the  sun,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  day  the  heights  of  Ferro  gradually  faded  from  the  horizon. 

On  losing  sight  of  this  last  trace  of  land,  the  hearts  of  the 
crews  failed  them,  for  they  seemed  to  have  taken  leave  of  the 
world.  Behind  them  was  every  thing  dear  to  the  heart  of  man — 
country,  family,  friends,  life  itself;  before  them  every  thing  was 
chaos,  mystery,  and  peril.  In  the  perturbation  of  the  moment, 
they  despaired  of  ever  more  seeing  their  homes.  Many  of  the  rug- 
ged seamen  shed  tears,  and  some  broke  into  loud  lamentations. 
Columbus  tried  in  every  way  to  soothe  their  distress,  describing 


I2S  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

the  splendid  countries  to  which  he  expected  to  conduct  them,  and 
promising  them  land,  riches,  and  every  thing  that  could  arouse 
their  cupidity  or  inflame  their  imaginations  ;  nor  were  these  prom- 
ises made  for  purposes  of  deception,  for  he  certainly  believed  he 
should  realize  them  all. 

He  now  gave  orders  to  the  commanders  of  the  other  vessels,  in 
case  they  should  be  separated  by  any  accident,  to  continue  directly 
westward  ;  but  that  after  sailing  seven  hundred  leagues,  they  should 
lay  by  from  midnight  until  daylight,  as  at  about  that  distance  he 
confidently  expected  to  find  land.  Foreseeing  that  the  vague  ter- 
rors already  awakened  among  the  seamen  would  increase  with  the 
space  which  intervened  between  them  and  their  homes,  he  com- 
menced a  stratagem  which  he  continued  throughout  the  voyage. 
This  was  to  keep  two  reckonings,  one  private,  in  which  the  true 
way  of  the  ship  was  noted,  and  which  he  retained  in  secret  for  his 
own  government ;  the  other  public,  for  general  inspection,  in  which 
a  number  of  leagues  was  daily  subtracted  from  the  sailing  of  the 
ships,  so  as  to  keep  the  crews  in  ignorance  of  the  real  distance  they 
had  advanced. 

When  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  *  west  of  Ferro, 
they  fell  in  with  part  of  a  mast  of  a  large  vessel,  and  the  crews, 
tremblingly  alive  to  every  portent,  looked  with  a  rueful  eye  upon 
this  fragment  of  a  wreck,  drifting  ominously  at  the  entrance  of 
these  unknown  seas. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  in  the  evening,  Columbus,  for  the 
first  time,  noticed  the  variation  of  the  needle,  a  phenomenon  which 
had  never  before  been  remarked.  He  at  first  made  no  mention  of 
it,  lest  his  people  should  be  alarmed ;  but  it  soon  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  the  pilots,  and  filled  them  with  consternation.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  very  laws  of  Nature  were  changing  as  they  advanced,  and 
that  they  were  entering  another  world  subject  to  unknown  influ- 
ences. They  apprehended  that  the  compass  was  about  to  lose  its 
mysterious  virtues,  and,  without  this  guide,  what  was  to  become  of 
them  in  a  vast  and  trackless  ocean  ?  Columbus  taxed  his  science 
and  ingenuity  for  reasons  with  which  to  allay  their  terrors.  He 
told  them  that  the  direction  of  the  needle  was  not  to  the  polar  star, 
but  to  some  fixed  and  invisible  point.  The  variation,  therefore,  was 
not  caused  by  any  fallacy  in  the  compass,  but  by  the  movement  of 

*  A  Spanish  nautical  mile  equal  to  about  four  English  miles. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


129 


the  north  star  itself,  which,  like  the  other  heavenly  bodies,  had  its 
changes  and  revolutions,  and  every  day  described  a  circle  round  the 
pole.  The  high  opinion  they  entertained  of  Columbus  as  a  pro- 
found  as- 
tronomer, 
gave  weight 
to  his  theo- 
ry, and  their 
alarm  sub- 
sided. 

They  had 
now  arrived 
within  the 
influence  of 
the  trade 
wind,  which, 
following 
the  sun, 
blows  stead- 
ily from  east 
to  west  be- 
tween the 
tropics,  and 
sweeps  over 
a  few  ad- 
joining de- 
grees of  the 
ocean.  With 
this  propi- 
tious breeze 
directly  aft, 
they  were 
wafted  q-ent- 


ly  but  speed- 
ily over  a 
tranquil  sea, 
so  that  for 
many  days 
they  did  not 


COLUMBUS   NOTICES  FOR  THE   FIRST  TIME  THE  VARIATION   OF  THE   NEEDLE. 

POINTING    BY   C.    V.    PILOTY.      (SEE    PAGE    120.> 


r30 


THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 


shift  a  sail.  Columbus  in  his  journal  perpetually  recurs  to  the 
bland  and  temperate  serenity  of  the  weather,  and  compares  the  pure 
and  balmy  mornings  to  those  of  April  in  Andalusia,  observing,  that 
the  song  of  the  nightingale  was  alone  wanting  to  complete  the  illu- 
sion. 

They    now    began  to  see    large    patches  of   herbs  and    weeds 
all  drifting    from  the    west.      Some    were 
such  as  grow  about  rocks  or  in  rivers, 
and  as  green  as  if  recently  washed 
from  the  land.     On   one  of  the 
patches  was  a  live  crab.    They 
saw    also    a    white    tropical 
bird,  of  a  kind  which  never 
sleeps  upon  the    sea ;    and 
tunny    fish   played   about 
the  ships.      Columbus 
now    supposed    himself 
arrived  in  the  weedy  sea 
described  by  Aristotle, 
into  which  certain  ships 


of  Cadiz  had  been 
driven  by  an  impetuous 
east  wind. 
As  he  advanced,  there 
were  various  other  signs 
that  gave  great  animation 
to  the  crews,  many  birds 
were  seen  flying  from  the 
west ;  there  was  a  cloudiness 
the  north,  such  as  often 
hangs  over  land ;  and  at  sunset 
the  imagination  of  the  seamen, 
aided  by  their  desires,  would  shape 
those  clouds  into  distant  islands. 
Every  one  was  eager  to  be  the  first  to  behold  and  announce  the 
wished-for  shore ;  for  the  sovereigns  had  promised  a  pension  of  thirty 
crowns  to  whomsoever  should  first  discover  land.  Columbus  sounded 
occasionally  with  a  line  of  two  hundred  fathoms,*  but  found  no  bot- 

*  Fathom,  equal  to  six  feet. 


THE  EAOER  AND  ANXIOUS   WATCH    TROW   THE   MASTHEAD. 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


torn.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  as  well  as  others  of  his  officers,  and 
many  of  the  seamen,  were  often  solicitous  for  Columbus  to  alter  his 
course,  and  steer  in  the  direction  of  these  favorable  signs ;  but  he 
persevered  in  steering  to  the  westward,  trusting  that,  by  keeping  in 
one  steady  direction,  he  should  reach  the  coast  of  India,  even  if  he 
should  miss 
the  interven- 
ing islands, 
and  might 
then  seek 
them  on  his 
return. 

Notwith- 
standing the 
precaution 
which  had 
been  taken 
to  keep  the 
people  igno- 
rant of  the 
distance  they 
had  sailed, 

they  gradually  became  uneasy  at  the  length 
of  the  voyage.  The  various  indications  of 
land  which  occasionally  flattered  their  hopes, 
passed  away  one  after  another,  and  the  same 
interminable  expanse  of  sea  and  sky  continued 
to  extend  before  them.  They  had  advanced 
much  farther  to  the  west  than  ever  man  had 
sailed  before,  and  though  already  beyond  the 
reach  of  succor,  were  still  pressing  onward 
and  onward  into  that  apparently  boundless 
abyss.  Even  the  favorable  wind,  which  seemed 
as  if  providentially  sent  to  waft  them  to  the 
New  World  with  such  bland  and  gentle  breezes,  was  conjured  by 
their  fears  into  a  source  of  alarm.  They  feared  that  the  wind  in 
these  seas  always  prevailed  from  the  east,  and  if  so,  would 
never  permit  their  return  to  Spain.  A  few  light  breezes  from  the 
west  allayed  for  a  time  their  last  apprehension,  and  several  small 


BECALMED    IN  THE  SARGASSO  SEA.     (SEE  PAGE  132.) 


132  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

birds,  such  as  keep  about  groves  and  orchards,  came  singing  in  the 
morning,  and  flew  away  at  night.  Their  song  was  wonderfully  cheer- 
ing to  the  hearts  of  the  poor  mariners,  who  hailed  it  as  the  voice  of 
land.  The  birds  they  had  hitherto  seen  had  been  large  and  strong 
of  wing;  but  such  small  birds,  they  observed,  were  too  feeble  to  fly 
far,  and  their  singing  showed  that  they  were  not  exhausted  by  their 
flight. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  a  profound  calm,  and  the  sea, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  covered  with  weeds,  so  as  to  have 
the  appearance  of  a  vast  inundated  meadow,  a  phenomenon  attrib- 
uted to  the  immense  quantities  of  submarine  plants  which  are  de- 
tached by  the  currents  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  The  seamen 
now  feared  that  the  sea  was  growing  shallow ;  they  dreaded  lurking 
rocks,  and  shoals,  and  quicksands,  and  that  their  vessels  might  run 
aground,  as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean,  far  out  of  the  track 
of  human  aid,  and  with  no  shore  where  the  crews  could  take  refuge. 
Columbus  proved  the  fallacy  of  this  alarm,  by  sounding  with  a  deep 
sea-line,  and  finding  no  bottom. 

For  three  days  there  was  a  continuance  of  light  summer  airs, 
from  the  southward  and  westward,  and  the  sea  was  as  smooth  as  a 
mirror.  The  crews  now  became  uneasy  at  the  calmness  of  the 
weather.  They  observed  that  the  contrary  winds  they  experienced 
were  transient  and  unsteady,  and  so  light  as  not  to  ruffle  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea,  the  only  winds  of  constancy  and  force  were  from 
the  west,  and  even  those  had  not  power  to  disturb  the  torpid  still- 
ness of  the  ocean :  there  was  a  risk,  therefore,  either  of  perishing 
amidst  stagnant  and  shoreless  waters,,  or  of  being  prevented,  by 
contrary  winds,  from  ever  returning  to  their  native  country. 

Columbus  continued,  with  admirable  patience,  to  reason  with 
these  absurd  fancies,  but  in  vain ;  when  fortunately  there  came  on 
a  heavy  swell  of  the  sea,  unaccompanied  by  wind,  a  phenomenon 
that  often  occurs  in  the  broad  ocean,  caused  by  the  impulse  of  some 
past  gale,  or  distant  current  of  wind.  It  was,  nevertheless,  re- 
garded with  astonishment  by  the  mariners,  and  dispelled  the  imag- 
inary terrors  occasioned  by  the  calm. 

The  situation  of  Columbus  was  daily  becoming  more  and  more 
critical.  The  impatience  of  the  seamen  rose  to  absolute  mutiny. 
They  gathered  together  in  the  retired  parts  of  the  ships,  at  first  in 
little  knots  of  two  and  three,  which  gradually  increased  and  became 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


133 


formidable,  joining  in  murmurs  and  menaces  against  the  admiral. 
They  exclaimed  against  him  as  an  ambitious  desperado,  who,  in  a 
mad  phantasy,  had  determined  to  do  something  extravagant  to  ren- 
der himself  notorious.  What  obliga- 
tion bound  them  to  persist,  or  when 
were  the  terms  of  their  agreement  to  be 
considered  as  fulfilled  ?  They  had  al- 
ready penetrated  into  seas  untraversed 
by  a  sail,  and  where  man  had  never 
before  adventured.  Were  they  to-  sail 
on  until  they  should  perish,  or  until 
all  return  with  their  frail  ships  should 
become  impossible  ?  Who  would  blame 
them  should  they  consult  their  safety 
and  return?  The  admiral  was  a  for- 
eigner, without  friends  or  influence. 
His  scheme  had  been  condemned  by 
the  learned  as  idle  and  visionary,  and 
discountenanced  by  people  of  all  ranks. 
There  was,  therefore,  no  party  on  his 
side,  but  rather  a  large  number  who 
would  be  gratified  by  his  failure. 

Such  are  some  of  the  reasonings 
by  which  these  men  prepared  them- 
selves for  open  rebellion.  Some  even 
proposed,  as  an  effectual  mode  of  si- 
lencing all  after-complaints  of  the  ad- 
miral, that  they  should  throw  him 
into  the  sea,  and  give  out  that  he  had 
fallen  overboard,  while  contemplating 
the  stars  and  signs  of  the  heavens, 
with  his  astronomical  instruments. 

Columbus  was  not  ignorant  of 
these  secret  cabals,  but  he  kept  a  serene 
and  steady  countenance,  soothing  some 
with  gentle  words,  stimulating  the  pride  or  the  avarice  of  others, 
and  openly  menacing  the  most  refractory  with  punishment.  New 
hopes  diverted  them  for  a  time.  On  the  25th  of  September,  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  mounted  on  the  stern  of  his  vessel,  and  shouted, 


MARTIN    ALONZO    PINZON  MISTAKES  AN   EVENING  CLOUD  FOR  LAND. 


134  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

"Land!  land!  Sefior,  I  claim  the  reward!"  There  was,  indeed, 
such  an  appearance  of  land  in  the  southwest,  that  Columbus  threw 
himself  upon  his  knees,  and  returned  thanks  to  God,  and  all  the 
crews  joined  in  chanting  Gloria  in  excelsis*  The  ships  altered  their 
course,  and  stood  all  night  to  the  southwest,  but  the  morning  light 
put  an  end  to  all  their  hopes  as  to  a  dream :  the  fancied  land  proved 
to  be  nothing  but  an  evening  cloud,  and  had  vanished  in  the  night. 

For  several  days,  they  continued  on  with  alternate  hopes  and 
murmurs,  until  the  various  signs  of  land  became  so  numerous, 
that  the  seamen,  from  a  state  of  despondency,  passed  to  one  of  high 
excitement.  Eager  to  obtain  the  promised  pension,  they  were  con- 
tinually giving  the  cry  of  land ;  until  Columbus  declared,  that  should 
any  one  give  a  notice  of  the  kind,  and  land  not  be  discovered  within 
three  days  afterwards,  he  should  thenceforth  forfeit  all  claim  to  the 
reward. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  they  had  come  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues,  the  distance  at  which  Columbus  had  computed  to  find  the 
island  of  Cipango.  There  were  great  flights  of  small  field  birds  to 
the  southwest,  which  seemed  to  indicate  some  neighboring  land  in 
that  direction,  where  they  were  sure  of  food  and  a  resting  place. 
Yielding  to  the  solicitations  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  and  his 
brothers,  Columbus,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th,  altered  his  course, 
therefore,  to  the  west-southwest.  As  he  advanced,  the  signs  of  laud 
increased ;  the  birds  came  singing  about  the  ships ;  and  herbage 
floated  by  as  fresh  and  green  as  if  recently  from  shore.  When, 
however,  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  of  this  new  course,  the 
seamen  beheld  the  sun  go  down  upon  a  shoreless  horizon,  they 
again  broke  forth  into  loud  clamors,  and  insisted  upon  abandoning 
the  voyage.  Columbus  endeavored  to  pacify  them  by  gentle  words 
and  liberal  promises  ;  but  finding  these  only  increased  their  vio- 
lence, he  assumed  a  different  tone,  and  told  them  it  was  useless  to 
murmur ;  the  expedition  had  been  sent  by  the  sovereigns  to  seek 
the  Indies,  and  happen  what  might,  he  was  determined  to  persevere, 
until,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  he  should  accomplish  the  enterprise. 

He  was  now  at  open  defiance  with  his  crew,  and  his  situation 
would  have  been  desperate,  but,  fortunately,  the  manifestations  of 
land  on  the  following  day  were  such  as  no  longer  to  admit  of  doubt. 

*  Gloria  in  excelsis,  Latin  beginning  of  the  hymn,  "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow." 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


J37 


A  green  fish,  suchas  keeps  about  rocks,  swam  by  the  ships;  and  a 
branch  of  thorn,  with  berries  on  it,  floated  by;  they  picked  up, 
also,  a  reed,  a  small  board,  and,  above  all,  a  staff  artificially  carved. 
All  gloom  and  murmuring  was  now  at  an  end,  and  throughout  the 
day  each  one  was  on  the  watch  for  the  long-sought  land. 

In  the  evening,  when,  according  to  custom,  the  mariners  had 
sung  the  salve  regina,  or  vesper  hymn  to  the  Virgin,  Columbus 
made  an  impressive  address  to  his  crew,  pointing  out  the  goodness 
of  God  in  thus  conducting  them  by  soft  and  favoring  breezes  across 
a  tranquil  ocean  to  the  promised  land.  He  expressed  a  strong 
confidence  of  making  land  that  very  night,  and  ordered  that  a  vig- 
ilant lookout  should  be  kept  from  the  forecastle,  promising  to 
whomsoever  should  make  the  discover}^,  a  doublet  of  velvet,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  pension  to  be  given  by  the  sovereigns. 

The  breeze  had  been  fresh  all  day,  with  more 
sea  than  usual ;  at  sunset  they  stood  agaiu  to  the 
west,  and  were  ploughing  the  waves  at  a  rapid 
rate,  the  Pinta  keeping  the  lead  from  her  superior 
sailing.  The  greatest  animation  prevailed  through- 
out the  ships ;  not  an  eye  was  closed  that  night. 
As  the  evening  darkened,  Columbus  took  his  sta- 
tion on  the  top  of  the  castle  or  cabin  on  the  high 
poop  of  his  vessel.  However  he  might  carry  a 
cheerful  and  confident  countenance  during  the  day, 
it  was  to  him  a  time  of  the  most  painful  anxiety ; 
and  now  when  he  was  wrapped  from  observation 
by  the  shades  of  night,  he  maintained  an  intense 
and  unremitting  watch,  ranging  his  eye  along  the 
dusky  horizon,  in  search  of  the  most  vague  indi- 
cations of  land.  Suddenly,  about  ten  o'clock,  he 
thought  he  beheld  a  light  glimmering  at  a  distance. 
Fearing  that  his  eager  hopes  might  deceive  him,  he  called  Pedro 
Gutierrez,  a  gentleman  of  the  king's  bedchamber,  and  demanded 
whether  he  saw  a  light  in  that  direction ;  the  latter  replied  in  the 
affirmative.  Columbus,  yet  doubtful  whether  it  might  not  be  some 
delusion  of  the  fancy,  called  Rodrigo  Sanchez  of  Segovia,  and  made 
the  same  inquiry.  By  the  time  the  latter  had  ascended  the  round- 
house, the  light  had  disappeared.  They  saw  it  once  or  twice  after- 
wards in  sudden  and  passing  gleams,  as  if  it  were  a  torch  in  the 


COLUMBUS  AND  PEDRO  GUTIERREZ  WATCHING  THE  GLIMMERING 
LIGHT  ON  THE  NIGHT  OF   OCTOBER   II,  1492. 


MARBLE  STATUE  BY    D.   D.  AMORE, — ESCURIAL. 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES  139 

bark  of  a  fisherman,  rising  and  sinking  with  the  waves  ;  or  in  the 
hands  of  some  person  on  shore,  borne  up  and  down  as  he  walked 
from  house  to  house.  So  transient  and  uncertain  were  these  gleams, 
that  few  attached  any  importance  to  them  ;  Columbus,  however, 
considered  them  as  certain  signs  of  land,  and,  moreover,  that  the 
land  was  inhabited. 

They  continued  on  their  course  until  two  in  the  morning, 
when  a  gun  from  the  Pinta  gave  the  joyful  signal  of  land.  It  was 
first  discovered  by  a  mariner  named  Rodriguez  Bermejo,  resident 
of  Triana,  a  suburb  of  Seville,  but  native  of  Alcala  de  la  Guadaira: 
but  the  reward  was  afterwards  adjudged  to  the  Admiral,  for  having 
previously  perceived  the  light.  The  land  was  now  clearly  seen 
about  two  leagues  distant,  whereupon  they  took  in  sail,  and  laid  to, 
waiting  impatiently  for  the  dawn. 

The  thoughts  and  feelings  of  Columbus  in  this  little  space  of 
time  must  have  been  tumultuous  and  intense.  At  length,  in  spite 
of  every  difficulty  and  danger,  he  had  accomplished  his  object.  The 
great  mystery  of  the  ocean  was  revealed ;  his  theory,  which  had 
been  the  scoff  of  sages,  was  triumphantly  established ;  he  had  se- 
cured to  himself  a  glory  which  must  be  as  durable  as  the  world 
itself. 

It  is  difficult  even  for  the  imagination  to  conceive  the  feelings 
of  such  a  man,  at  the  moment  of  so  sublime  a  discovery.  What  a 
bewildering  crowd  of  conjectures  must  have  thronged  "upon  his 
mind,  as  to  the  land  which  lay  before  him,  covered  with  darkness ! 
That  it  was  fruitful  was  evident  from  the  vegetables  which  floated 
from  its  shores.  He  thought,  too,  that  he  perceived  in  the  balmy 
air  the  fragrance  of  aromatic  groves.  The  moving  light  which  he 
had  beheld,  proved  that  it  was  the  residence  of  man.  But  what 
were  its  inhabitants  ?  Were  they  like  those  of  other  parts  of  the 
globe ;  or  were  they  some  strange  and  monstrous  race,  such  as  the 
imagination  in  those  times  was  prone  to  give  to  all  remote  and  un- 
known regions  ?  Had  he  come  upon  some  wild  island,  far  in  the 
Indian  seas ;  or  was  this  the  famed  Cipango  itself,  the  object  of  his 
golden  fancies  ?  A  thousand  speculations  of  the  kind  must  have 
swarmed  upon  him,  as  he  watched  for  the  night  to  pass  away; 
wondering  whether  the  morning  light  would  reveal  a  savage  wilder- 
ness, or  dawn  upon  spicy  groves,  and  glittering  fanes,  and  gilded 
cities,  and  all  the  splendors  of  oriental  civilization. 


CHAPTER  XL 


FIRST   LANDING   OF    COLUMBUS    IN   THE    NEW   WORLD.      CRUISE  AMONG   THE   BAHAMA   ISLANDS. 
DISCOVERY   OF   CUBA   AND    HISPANIOLA.     (1492.) 


^\3  t 

HEN    the    day    dawned,    Columbus    saw 

before  him  a  level  and  beautiful  island, 
several  leagues  in  extent,  of  great 
freshness  and  verdure,  and  covered 
with  trees  like  a  continual  orchard. 
Though  every  thing  appeared  in  the 
wild  luxuriance  of  untamed  nature,  yet 
the  island  was  evidently  populous,  for  the  in- 
habitants were  seen  issuing  from  the  woods,  and  running  from  all 
parts  to  the  shore.  They  were  all  perfectly  naked,  and,  from  their 
attitudes  and  gestures,  appeared  lost  in  astonishment  at  the  sight 
of  the  ships.  Columbus  made  signal  to  cast  anchor,  and  to  man 
the  boats.  He  entered  his  own  boat,  richly  attired  in  scarlet,  and 
bearing  the  royal  standard.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  and  Vincente 
Yaiiez  his  brother,  likewise  put  off  in  their  boats,  each  bearing  the 
banner  of  the  enterprise,  emblazoned  with  a  green  cross,  having,  on 
each  side,  the  letters  F  and  Y,  surmounted  by  crowns,  the  Spanish 
initials  of  the  Castilian  monarchs,  Fernando  and  Ysabel. 

As  they  approached  the  shores,  they  were  delighted  by  the 
beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  forests ;  the  variety  of  unknown  fruits 
on  the  trees  which  overhung  the  shores ;  the  purity  and  suavity  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  crystal  transparency  of  the  seas  which 
bathe  these  islands.  On  landing,  Columbus  threw  himself  upon 
his  knees,  kissed  the  earth,  and  returned  thanks  to  God  with  tears 
of  joy.  His  example  was  followed  by  his  companions,  whose  breasts, 
indeed,  were  full  to  overflowing.     Columbus,  then  rising,  drew  his 


(14°) 


OF   COLUMBUS.  1 43 

sword,  displayed  the  royal  standard,  and  took  possession  in  the 
names  of  the  Castilian  sovereigns,  giving  the  island  the  name  of 
San  Salvador.  He  then  called  upon  all  present  to  take  the  oath  ol 
obedience  to  him,  as  admiral  and  viceroy,  and  representative  of  the 
sovereigns. 

His  followers  now  burst  forth  into  the  most  extravagant  trans- 
ports. They  thronged  around  him,  some  embracing  him,  others 
kissing  his  hands.  Those,  who  had  been  most  mutinous  and  tur- 
bulent during  the  voyage,  were  now  most  devoted  and  enthusiastic. 
Some  begged  favors  of  him,  as  of  a  man  who  had  already  wealth 
and  honors  in  his  gift.  Many  abject  spirits,  who  had  outraged  him 
by  their  insolence,  now  crouched  at  his  feet,  begging  his  forgive- 
ness, and  offering,  for  the  future,  the  blindest  obedience  to  his  com 
mands. 

The  natives  of  the  island,  when,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  they  had 
beheld  the  ships  hovering  on  the  coast,  had  supposed  them  some 
monsters,  which  had  issued  from  the  deep  during  the  night.  Their 
veering  about,  without  any  apparent  effort,  and  the  shifting  and 
furling  of  their  sails,  resembling  huge  wings,  filled  them  with  as- 
tonishment. When  they  beheld  the  boats  approach  the  shore,  and 
a  number  of  strange  beings,  clad  in  glittering  steel,  or  raiment  of 
various  colors,  landing  upon  the  beach,  they  fled  in  affright  to  the 
woods.  Finding,  however,  that  there  was  no  attempt  to  pursue  or 
molest  them,  they  gradually  recovered  from  their  terror,  and  ap- 
proached the  Spaniards  with  great  awe,  frequently  prostrating 
themselves,  and  making  signs  of  adoration.  During  the  ceremony 
of  taking  possession,  they  remained  gazing,  in  timid  admiration,  at 
the  complexion,  the  beards,  the  shining  armor,  and  splendid  dress 
of  the  Spaniards.  The  admiral  particularly  attracted  their  atten- 
tion, from  his  commanding  height,  his  air  of  authority,  his  scarlet 
dress,  and  the  deference  paid  to  him  by  his  companions ;  all  which 
pointed  him  out  to  be  the  commander.  When  they  had  still  further 
recovered  from  their  fears,  they  approached  the  Spaniards,  touched 
their  beards,  and  examined  their  hands  and  faces,  admiring  their 
whiteness.  Columbus,  pleased  with  their  simplicity,  their  gentle- 
ness, and  the  .confidence  they  reposed  in  beings  who  must  have  ap- 
peared so  strange  and  formidable,  submitted  to  their  scrutiny  with 
perfect  acquiescence.  The  wondering  savages  were  won  by  this 
benignity ;  they  now  supposed  that  the  ships  had  sailed  out  of  the 


i44 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


crystal  firmament  which  bounded  their  horizon,  or  that  they  had 
descended  from  above,  on  their  ample  wings,  and  that  these  mar- 
vellous beings  were  inhabitants  of  the 
skies. 

The  natives  of  the  island  were  no 
less  objects  of  curiosity  to  the  Spaniards, 
differing,  as  they  did,  from  any  race 
of  men  they  had  ever  seen.  They 
were  entirely  naked,  and  painted 
variety  of  colors  and  de- 
vices, so  as  to  have  a  wild  and 
fantastic  appearance.  Their 
natural  complexion  was  of  a 
tawny,  or  copper  hue, 
and  they  were  entirely 
destitute  of  beards. 
Their  hair  was  not 
crisped,  like  the  recent- 
ly discovered  tribes  of 
Africa,  under  the  same 
latitude,  but  straight  and 
coarse,  partly  cut  above 
the  ears,  but  some  locks 
behind  left  long,  and 
falling  upon  their  shoul- 
ders. Their  features, 
though  disfigured  by 
paint,  were  agreeable ; 
they  had  lofty  foreheads 
and  remarkably  fine 
eyes.  They  were  of 
moderate  stature,  and 
well  shaped;  most  of 
them  appeared  to  be 
under  thirty  3'ears  of 
age.  There  was  but  one 
female  with  them,  quite 
young,  naked  like  her  companions,  and  beautifully  formed.  They 
appeared  to  be  a  simple  and  artless  people,  and  of  gentle  and  friend- 


NATIVES  OF   THE   LUCAYAS. 

REDRAWN   FROM  THE  DESCRIPTIONS  FURNISHED  BY  THE  EARLY  NAVIGATORS,  AND  DATA  OBTAINED  FROM  THE  TYPES 
OF  NATIVES  INHABITING  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA  AT  PRESENT. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


M5 


ly  dispositions.  Their  only  arras  were  lances,  hardened  at  the  end 
by  fire,  or  pointed  with  a  flint  or  the  bone  of  a  fish.  There  was  no 
iron  to  be  seen  among  them,  nor  did  they  know  its  properties,  for 
when  a  drawn  sword  was  presented  to  them,  they  ungardedly  took 
it  by  the  edge.  Columbus  distributed  among  them  colored  caps, 
glass  beads,  hawk's  bells,  and  other  trifles,  which  they  received  as 
inestimable  gifts,  and  decorating  themselves  with  them,  were  won- 
derfully delighted  with  their  finery. 

As  Columbus  supposed  himself  to  have  landed  on  an  island  at 
the  extremity  of  India,  he  called  the  natives  by 
the  general  appellation  of   Indians,   which  was 
universally  adopted  before  the  nature  of  his  dis- 
covery was  known,  and  has  since  been  extended 
to  all  the  aboriginals  of  the  New  World.    The 
Spaniards  remained  all  day  on  shore,  refresh- 
ing themselves,  after  their    anxious  voy- 
age, amidst  the  beautiful  groves  of  the 
island,  and  they  returned  to  their  ships 
late  in  the   evening,  delighted  with  all 
they  had  seen. 

The  island  where  Columbus  had 
thus,  for  the  first  time,  set  his  foot  upon 
the  new  world,  is  one  of  the  Lucayas,  or 
Bahama  Islands,  and  was  called  by  the 
natives  Guanahani ;  it  still  retains  the 
name  of  San  Salvador,  which  he  gave 
it,  though  called  by  the  English,  Cat 
Island.  The  light  which  he  had  seen 
the  evening  previous  to  his  making  land,  *^ 
may  have  been  on  Watling's  Island,  "';; 
which  lies  a  few  leagues  to  the  east. 

On  the  following  morning,  at  day- 
break, some  of  the  natives  came  swimming  off  to  the  ships,  and 
others  came  in  light  barks,  which  they  called  canoes,  formed  of  a 
single  tree,  hollowed,  and  capable  of  holding  from  one  man  to  the 
number  of  forty  or  fifty.  The  Spaniards  soon  discovered  that  they 
were  destitute  of  wealth,  and  had  little  to  offer  in  return  for 
trinkets,  except  balls  of  cotton  3'arn,  and  domesticated  parrots. 
The}'  brought  cakes  of  a  kind  of  bread  called  cassava,  made  from 
the  yuca  root,  which  constituted  a  principal  part  of  their  food. 


OLUMSUS  DISTRIBUTES   HAWK'S  BELLS  AND   OTHER  TRIFLES  AMONG  THE 
NATIVES  OF  OUANAHANI. 


146 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


The  avarice  of  the  discoverers  was  awakened  by  perceiving 
small  ornaments  of  °:old  in  the  noses  of  some  of  the  natives.  On 
being  asked  where  this  precious  metal  was  procured,  they  answered 
by  signs,  pointing  to  the  south;  and  Columbus  understood  them  to 
say,  that  a  king  resided  in  that  quarter,  of  such  wealth  that  he  was 
served  in  great  vessels  of  gold.  He  interpreted  all  their  imperfect 
communications  according  to  his  previous  ideas  and  his  cherished 
wishes.  They  spoke  of  a  warlike  people,  who  often  invaded  their 
island  from  the  northwest,  and  carried  off  the  inhabitants.     These 


he  concluded  to  be  the  people  of  the  mainland  of  Asia,  subjects  to 
the  Grand  Khan,  who,  according  to  Marco  Polo,  were  accustomed 
to  make  war  upon  the  islands,  and  make  slaves  of  the  natives.  The 
rich  country  to  the  south  could  be  no  other  than  the  island  of 
Cipango,  and  the  king  who  was  served  out  of  golden  vessels,  must 
be  the  monarch  whose  magnificent  palace  was  said  to  be  covered 
with  plates  of  gold. 

Having  explored  the  island  of  Guanahani,  and  taken  in  a  sup- 
ply of  wood  and  water,  Columbus  set  sail  in  quest  of  the  opulent 


OF    COLUMBUS.  147 


country  to   the  south,   taking  seven   of  the   natives   with   him,   to 
acquire  the  Spanish  language,  and  serve  as  interpreters  and  guides. 
He  now  beheld  a  number  of  beautiful  islands,  green,  level,  and 
fertile,  and  the  Indians  intimated  by  signs,  that  they  were  innumer- 
able;   he    supposed    them  to    be  a    part  of   the    great   archipelago 
described  by  Marco  Polo  as  stretching  along  the  coast  of  Asia,  and 
abounding  with  spices  and  odoriferous  trees.     He  visited  three  of 
them,  to  which  he  gave  the  names  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Conception, 
Fernandina,  and  Isabella.    The  inhabitants  gave  the  same  proofs  as 
those  of  San  Salvador  of  being  totally  unaccustomed  to  the  sight 
of  civilized  man.     They  regarded   the   Spaniards   as    superhuman 
beings,  approached  them  with  propitiatory  offerings,  of  whatever 
their    poverty,  or   rather    their    simple  and  natural  mode  of  life, 
afforded;  the  fruits  of  their   fields  and  groves,  their  cotton  yarn, 
and    their  domesticated    parrots.     When    the  Spaniards  landed  in 
search  of  water,  they  took  them  to  the  coolest  springs,  the  sweetest 
and  freshest  runs,  filling  their  casks,  rolling  them  to  the  boats,  and 
seeking  in  every  way  to  gratify  their  celestial  visitors. 

Columbus  was  enchanted  by  the  lovely  scenery  of  some  of 
these  islands.  "I  know  not,"  says  he,  "where  first  to  go,  nor  are 
my  eyes  ever  weary  of  gazing  on  the  beautiful  verdure.  The  sing- 
ing of  the  birds  is  such,  that  it  seems  as  if  one  would  never  desire 
to  depart  hence.  There  are  flocks  of  parrots  that  obscure  the  sun, 
and  other  birds  of  many  kinds,  large  and  small,  entirely  different 
from  ours.  Trees,  also,- of  a  thousand  species,  each  having  its  par- 
ticular fruit,  and  all  of  marvellous  flavor.  I  believe  there  are  many 
herbs  and  trees,  which  would  be  of  great  value  in  Spain  for  tinct- 
ures, medicines,  and  spices,  but  I  know  nothing  of  them,  which 
gives  me  great  vexation." 

The  fish,  which  abounded  in  these  seas,  partook  of  the  novelty 
which  characterized  most  of  the  objects  in  this  new  world.  They 
rivalled  the  birds  in  the  tropical  brilliancy  of  their  colors,  the  scales 
of  some  of  them  glanced  back  the  rays  of  light  like  precious  stones, 
and  as  they  sported  about  the  ships,  they  flashed  gleams  of  gold  and 
silver  through  the  crystal  waves. 

Columbus  was  disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  finding  any  gold 
or  spices  in  these  islands ;  but  the  natives  continued  to  point  to  the 
south,  as  the  region  of  wealth,  and  began  to  speak  of  an  island  in 
that  direction,  called  Cuba,  which,  the  Spaniards  understood  them 


148  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

to  say,  abounded  in  gold,  pearls,  and  spices,  and  carried  on  an  exten- 
sive commerce,  and  that  large  merchant  ships  came  to  trade  with  the 
inhabitants.  Columbus  concluded  this  to  be  the  desired  Cipango, 
and  the  merchant  ships  to  be  those  of  the  Grand  Khan.  He  set  sail 
in  search  of  it,  and  after  being  delayed  for  several  days,  b}-  contrary 
winds  and  calms,  among  the  small  islands  of  the  Bahama  bank  and 
channel,  he  arrived  in  sight  of  it  on  the  28th  of  October. 

As  he  approached  this  noble  island,  he  was  struck  with  its 
magnitude,  the  grandeur  of  its  mountains,  its  fertile  valleys  and 
long  sweeping  plains,  covered  by  stately  forests,  and  watered  by 
noble  rivers.  He  anchored  in  a  beautiful  river  to  the  west  of  Nue- 
vitas  del  Principe,  and  taking  formal  possession  of  the  island,  gave 
it  the  name  of  Juana,  in  honor  of  Prince  Juan,  and  to  the  river  the 
name  of  San  Salvador. 

Columbus  spent  several  days  coasting  this  part  of  the  island, 
and  exploring  the  fine  harbors  and  rivers  with  which  it  abounds. 
From  his  continual  remarks  in  his  journal  on  the  beauty  of  the 
scenery,  and  from  the  pleasure  which  he  evidently  derived  from 
rural  sounds  and  objects,  he  appears  to  have  been  extremely  open 
to  those  delicious  influences,  exercised  over  some  spirits  by  the 
graces  and  wonders  of  nature.  He  was,  in  fact,  in  a  mood  to  see 
every  thing  through  a  fond  and  favoring  medium,  for  he  was  enjoy- 
ing the  fulfillment  of  his  hopes,  the  hard-earned  but  glorious  re- 
ward of  his  toils  and  perils ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  rap- 
turous state  of  his  feelings,  while  thus  exploring  the  charms  of  a 
virgin  world,  won  by  his  enterprise  and  valor. 

In  the  sweet  smell  of  the  woods,  and  the  odor  of  the  flowers, 
he  fancied  he  perceived  the  fragrance  of  oriental  spices,  and  along 
the  shores  he  found  shells  of  the  oyster  which  produces  pearls.  He 
frequently  deceived  himself,  in  fancying  that  he  heard  the  song  of 
the  nightingale,  a  bird  unknown  in  these  countries.  From  the 
grass  growing  to  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  he  inferred  the  peace- 
fulness  of  the  ocean  which  bathes  these  islands,  never  lashing  the 
shores  with  angry  surges.  Fver  since  his  arrival  among  these  An- 
tilles, he  had  experienced  nothing  but  soft  and  gentle  weather,  and 
he  concluded  that  a  perpetual  serenity  reigned  over  these  seas,  little 
suspicious  of  the  occasional  bursts  of  fury  to  which  they  are  liable, 
and  of  the  tremendous  hurricanes  which  rend  and  devastate  the 
face  of  nature. 


(149) 


15° 


THE    LIFE    AXD    VOYAGES 


While  coasting  the  island,  he  landed  occasionally  and  visited 
the  villages,  the  inhabitants  of  which  fled  to  the  woods  and  mount- 
ains. The  houses  were  constructed  of  branches  of  palm  trees,  in 
the  shape  of  pavilions,  and  were  scattered  under  the  spreading  trees, 
like  tents  in  a  camp.  They  were  better  built  than  those  he  had 
hitherto  visited,  and  extremely  clean.  He  found  in  them  rude  im- 
ages, and  wooden  masks,  carved  with  considerable  ingenuity.  Find- 
ing implements  for  fishing  in  all  the  cabins,  he  concluded  that  the 
coasts  were  inhabited  merely  by  fisherman,  who  supplied  the  cities 
in  the  interior. 

After  coasting  to  the  northwest  for  some  distance,  Columbus 
came  in  sight  of  a  great  headland,  to  which,  from  the  groves  which 
covered  it,  he  gave  the  name  of  the  Cape  of  Palms.  Here  he  learnt 
that  behind  this  bay  there  was  a  river,  from  whence  it  was  but  four 
da}^s'  journey  to  Cubanacan.  By  this  name  the  natives  designated 
a  province  in  the  centre  of  Cuba;  iiacau,  in  their  language  sig- 
nifying the  midst.  Columbus  fancied,  however,  that  they  were 
talking  of  Cublay  Khan,  the  Tartar  sovereign,  and  understood 
them  to  say  that  Cuba  was  not  an  island,  but  terra  firma.  He  con- 
cluded that  this  must  be  a  part  of  the  mainland  of  Asia,  and  that 
he  could  be  at  no  great  distance  from  Mangi  and 
Cathay,  the  ultimate  destination  of  his  voyage. 
The  prince,  said  to  reign  over  the  neighboring 
country,  might  be  some  oriental  potentate  of  conse- 
|  quence ;  he  determined,  therefore,  to  send  a  present 
to  him,  and  one  of  his  letters  of  recommendation 
from  the  Castilian  sovereigns.  For  this  purpose 
he  chose  two  Spaniards,  one  of  whom  was  a  con- 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  EMBASSY  TO  THE  IMAGINARY  CUBLAY  KHAN,  AT  AN   INDIAN  VILLAGE. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


151 


verted  Jew,  and  knew  Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  and  a  little  Arabic,  one  or 
other  of  which  languages,  it  was  thought,  mnst  be  known  to  this 
oriental  prince.  Two  Indians  were  sent  with  them  as  guides  ;  they 
were  furnished  with  strings  of  beads,  and  various  trinkets,  for  their 
traveling  expenses,  and  enjoined  to  inform  themselves  accurately 
concerning  the  situation  of  certain  provinces,  ports,  and  rivers  of 
Asia,  and  to  ascertain  whether  drugs  and  spices  abounded  in  the 
country.  The  ambassadors  penetrated  twelve  leagues  into  the  in- 
terior, when  they  came  to  a  village  of  fifty  houses,  and  at  least  a 
thousand  inhabitants.  They  were  received  with  great  kindness, 
conducted  to  the  principal  house,  and  provisions  placed 
before  them,  after  which  the  Indians  seated  themselves 
on  the  ground  around  their  visitors,  and  waited  to 
hear  what  they  had  to  communicate. 

The  Israelite  found  his  Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  and 
Arabic  of  no  avail,  and  the  Lucayan  interpreter 
had  to  be  the  orator.  He  made  a  regular  speech 
after  the  Indian  manner,  extolling  the  power, 
wealth,  and  munificence  of  the  white  men. 
When  he  had  finished,  the  Indians  crowded 
round  the  Spaniards,  touched  and  examined 
their  skin  and  raiment,  and  kissed  their  hands 
and  feet  in  token  of  adoration.  'There  was  no 
appearance  of  gold,  or  any  other  article  of  great 
value,  among  them ;  and  when  they  were  shown 
specimens  of  various  spices,  they  said  .there  was 
nothing  of  the  kind  to  be  found  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, but  far  off  to  the  southwest. 

Finding  no  traces  of  the  city  and  court  they  had  anticipated, 
the  envoys  returned  to  their  ships ;  on  the  way  back  they  beheld 
several  of  the  natives  going  about  with  firebrands  in  their  hands, 
and  certain  dried  herbs  which  they  rolled  up  in  a  leaf,  and  lighting 
one  end,  put  the  other  in  their  mouths,  and  continued  inhaling  and 
puffing  out  the  smoke.  A  roll  of  this  kind  they  called  a  tobacco ; 
a  name  since  transferred  to  the  weed  itself.  The  Spaniards  were 
struck  with  astonishment  at  this  singular,  and  apparently  prepos- 
terous luxury,  although  prepared  to  meet  with  wonders. 

The  report  of  the  envoys  put  an  end  to  many  splendid  fancies 
of  Columbus,  about  this  barbaric  prince  and' his  capital;  all  that 


INDIAN   PRODUCING    FIRE,   BY  THE  RAPID  TWIRLING  OF  A 
IN  AN    INDENTURE  OF  DRY  SPONGY  WOOD. 


152  THE   LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

they  had  seen  betokened  a  primitive  and  simple  state  of  society ; 
the  country,  though  fertile  and  beautiful,  was  wild,  and  but  slightly 
and  rudely  cultivated  ;  the  people  were  evidently  strangers  to  civil- 
ized man,  nor  could  they  hear  of  any  inland  city,  superior  to  the  one 
they  had  visited. 

As  fast  as  one  illusion  passed  away,  however,  another  succeeded. 
Columbus  now  understood  from  the  signs  of  the  Indians,  that  there 
was  a  country  to  the  eastward  where  the  people  collected  gold  along 
the  river  banks  by  torch-light,  and  afterwards  wrought  it  into  bars 
with  hammers.  In  speaking  of  this  place  they  frequently  used  the 
words  Babeque  and  Bohio,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  names  of 
islands  or  provinces.  As  the  season  was  advancing,  and  the  cool 
nights  gave  hints  of  approaching  winter,  he  resolved  not  to  proceed 
further  to  the  north,  and  turning  eastward,  sailed  in  quest  of  Ba- 
beque, which  he  trusted  might  prove  some  rich  and  civilized  island. 

After  running  along  the  coast  for  two  or  three  days,  and  pass- 
ing a  great  cape,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Cuba,  he  stood 
out  to  sea  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  the  Indians.  The  wind, 
however,  came  directly  ahead,  and  after  various  ineffectual  attempts 
he  had  to  return  to  Cuba.  What  gave  him  great  uneasiness  was, 
that  the  Pinta,  commanded  by  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  parted  com- 
pany with  him  during  this  attempt.  She  was  the  best  sailer,  and 
had  worked  considerably  to  windward  of  the  other  ships.  Pinzon 
paid  no  attention  to  the  signals  of  Columbus  to  turn  back,  though 
they  were  repeated  at  night  by  lights  at  the  mast-head  ;  when  morn- 
ing dawned,  the  Pinta  was  no  longer  to  be  seen. 

Columbus  considered  this  a  willful  desertion,  and  was  much 
troubled  and  perplexed  by  it.  Martin  Alonzo  had  for  some  time 
shown  impatience  at  the  domination  of  the  admiral.  He  was  a 
veteran  navigator  of  great  abilities,  and  accustomed  from  his  wealth 
and  standing  to  give  the  law  among  his  nautical  associates.  He 
had  furnished  two  of  the  ships,  and  much  of  the  funds  for  the  ex- 
pedition, and  thought  himself  entitled  to  an  equal  share  in  the 
command ;  several  disputes,  therefore,  had  occurred  between  him 
and  the  admiral.  Columbus  feared  he  might  have  departed  to 
make  an  independent  cruise,  or  might  have  the  intention  to  hasten 
back  to  Spain,  and  claim  the  merit  of  the  discovery.  These  thoughts 
distracted  his  mind,  and  embarrassed  him  in  the  further  prosecu- 
tion of  his  discoveries. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


J53 


For  several  days  he  continued  exploring  the  coast  of  Cuba, 
until  he  reached  the  eastern  end,  to  which,  from  supposing  it  the 
extreme  point  of  Asia,  he  gave  the  name  of  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  beginning  and  the  end.  While  steering  at  large  beyond  this 
cape,  undetermined  which  course  to  take,  he  descried  high  mountains 
towering  above  the  clear  horizon  to  the  southeast,  and  giving  evi- 
dence of  an  island  of  great  extent.  He  immediately  stood  for  it,  to 
the  great  consternation  of  his  Indian  guides,  who  assured  him  by 
signs  that  the  inhabitants  had  but  one  eye,  and  were  fierce  and  cruel 
cannibals. 

In  the  transparent  atmosphere  of  the  tropics,  objects  are  des- 
cried at  a  great  distance,  and  the  purity  of  the  air  and  serenity  of 
the  deep  blue  sky,  give  a  magical  charm  to  scenery.  Under  these 
advantages,  the  beautiful  island  of  Hayti  revealed  itself  to  the  eye 
as  they  approached.  Its  mountains  were  higher  and  more  rocky 
than  those  of  the  other  islands,  but  the  rocks  rose  from  among  rich 
forests.  The  mountains  swept  down  into  luxuriant  plains  and 
green  savannahs,  while  the  appearance  of  cultivated  fields,  with  the 
numerous  fires  at  night,  and  the  columns  of  smoke  which  rose  in 
various  parts  by  day,  all  showed  it  to  be  populous.  It  rose  before 
them  in  all  the  splendor  of  tropical  vegetation,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  islands  in  the  world,  and  doomed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
unfortunate. 


INDIAN  WOMAN  TAKING  A   BATH  ;    UPON  A  HEATED  STONE  HER  COMPANION   EMPTIES  THE  WATER,  WHICH 
RISING  IN  STEAM,   ENVELOPES  THE  WOMAN  SWINGING  IN  THE  HAMMOCK. 


HOSPITABLE    RECEPTION    OF   THE    SHIPWRECKED   COLUMBUS    BY    THE    CACIQUE    GUACAN 


CHAPTER   XII. 


COASTING    OF    HISPANIOLA       SHIPWRECK,    AND    OTHER    OCCURENCES   AT   THE    ISLAND.       1492. 


N  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  December,  Columbus  entered 
a  harbor  in  the  western  end  of  the  island,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  St.  Nicholas,  by  which  it  is  called  at  the 
present  da)-.  Not  being  able  to  meet  with  any  of  the 
inhabitants,  who  had  fled  from  their  dwellings,  he  coasted 
along  the  northern  side  of  the  island  to  another  harbor, 
which  he  called  Conception.  Here  the  sailors  caught 
several  kinds  of  fish  similar  to  those  of  their  own  country, 
they  heard  also  the  notes  of  a  bird  which  sings  in  the 
night,  and  which  they  mistook  for  the  nightingale,  and 
the}'  fancied  the  features  of  the  surrounding  country  re- 
sembled those  of  the  more  beautiful  provinces  of  Spain ;  in  conse- 
quence of  this  idea,  the  admiral  named  the  island  Espanola,  or,  as 
it  is  commonly  written,  Hispaniola.  After  various  ineffectual 
attempts  to  obtain  a  communication  with  the  natives,  three  sailors 
succeeded  in  overtaking  a  voung  and  handsome  female,  who  was 
flying  from  them,  and  brought  their  wild  beauty  in  triumph  to  the 
ships.     She  was  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness,  and  dismissed 


(.5+) 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


J55 


finely  clothed,  and  loaded  with  presents  of  beads,  hawk's  bells,  and 
other  baubles.  Confident  of  the  favorable  impression  her  account 
of  her  treatment,  and  the  sight  of  her  presents,  must  produce,  Co- 
lumbus, on  the  following  day,  sent  nine  men,  well  armed,  to  seek 
her  village,  accompanied  by  a  native  of  Cuba  as  an  interpreter. 
The  village  was  situated  in  a  fine  valley,  on  the  banks  of  a  beauti- 
ful river,  and  contained  about  a  thousand  houses.  The  natives  fled 
at  first,  but  being  reassured  by  the  interpreter,  they  came  back 
to  the  number  of  two  thousand,  and  approached  the  Spaniards 
with  awe 
and  trem- 
bling, often 
pausing 
and  put- 
ting their 
hands  upon 
their  heads 
in  token  of 
reverence 
and  sub- 
mission. 

The  fe- 
male also, 
who  had 
been  enter- 
tained on 
board  of the 
ships,  came 
borne    in 

triumph  on  the  shoulders  of  some  of  her  countrymen,  followed  by 
a  multitude,  and  preceded  by  her  husband,  who  was  full  of  grati- 
tude for  the  kindness  with  which  she  had  been  treated.  Having 
recovered  from  their  fears,  the  natives  conducted  the  Spaniards  to 
their  houses,  and  set  before  them  cassava  bread,  fish,  roots,  and 
fruits  of  various  kinds ;  offering  them  freely  whatever  they  pos- 
sessed, for  a  frank  hospitality  reigned  throughout  the  island,  where 
as  yet  the  passion  of  avarice  was  unknown. 

The  Spaniards   returned  to  the  vessels  enraptured  with  the 
beauty  of  the  country,  surpassing,  as  they  said,  even  the  luxuriant 
9 


THREE  SAILORS  OF  C0LUM3US  SUCCEED  IN  O/ESTAKING  A    YOUNG  AND  HANOSOME  FEMALE,  AND  BRING  THEIR  WILD  fcEAUTY  IN 
TRIUMPH     TO  THE  SHIPS.      DRAWING  BY  0.  GRAEFF. 


156 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


SPANISH    DUCAT   OF   THE 

REIGN  OF  FERDINAND 

AND  ISABELLA. 


valley  of  Cordova;  all  that  they  complained  of  was,  that  they  saw 
no  signs  of  riches  among  the  natives. 

Continuing  along  the  coast,  Columbus  had  further  intercourse 
with  the  natives,  some  of  whom  had  ornaments  of  gold,  which  they 
readily  exchanged  for  the  merest  trifle  of  European  manufacture. 
At  one  of  the  harbors  where  he  was  detained  by  contrary  winds,  he 
was  visited  by  a  young  cacique,*  apparently  of  great  importance, 
who  came  borne  on  a  litter  by  four  men,  and  attended  by  two  hun- 
dred of  his  subjects.  He  entered  the  cabin  where  Columbus  was 
dining,  and  took  his  seat  beside  him,  with  a  frank,  unembarrassed 
air,  while  two  old  men,  who  were  his  counsellors,  seated  themselves 
at  his  feet,  watching  his  lips,  as  if  to  catch  and  communicate  his 
ideas.  If  any  thing  were  given  him  to  eat,  he  merely  tasted  it,  and 
sent  it  to  his  followers,  maintaining  an  air  of  great  gravity  and  dig- 
nity. After  dinner,  he  presented  the  admiral  with  a  belt  curiously 
wrought,  and  two  pieces  of  gold.  Columbus  made  him  various 
presents  in  return ;  he  showed  him  a  coin  bearing  the  likenesses  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  endeavored  to  give  him  an  idea  of  the 
power  and  grandeur  of  those  sovereigns.  The  cacique,  however, 
could  not  be  made  to  believe  that  there  was  a  region  on  earth  which 
produced  such  wonderful  people  and  wonderful  things,  but  persisted 
in  the  idea  that  the  Spaniards  were  more  than  mortal,  and  that  the 
country  and  sovereigns  they  spoke  of,  must  exist  somewhere  in  the 
skies. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  Columbus  anchored  in  a  fine  harbor, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Thomas,  supposed  to  be  what  at 
present  is  called  the  bay  of  Acul.  Here  a  large  canoe  visited  the 
ships,  bringing  messengers  from  a  grand  cacique  named  Guacana- 
gari,  who  resided  on  the  coast  a  little  farther  to  the  eastward, 
and  reigned  over  all  that  part  of  the  island.  The  messengers  bore 
a  present  of  a  broad  belt,  wrought  ingeniously  with  colored  beads 
and  bones,  and  a  wooden  mask,  the  eyes,  nose  and  tongue  of  which 
were  of  gold.  They  invited  Columbus,  in  the  name  of  the  cacique, 
to  come  with  his  ships  opposite  to  the  village  where  he  resided. 
Adverse  winds  prevented  an  immediate  compliance  with  this  invi- 
tation ;  he  therefore  sent  a  boat  well  armed,  with  the  notary  of  the 
squadron,  to  visit  the  chieftain.  The  latter  returned  with  so  favor- 
able an  account  o'f  the  appearance  of  the  village,  and  the  hospital- 

*  Title  of  an  Indian  chief  among  South  American  Indians. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


157 


ity  of  the  cacique,  that  Columbus  determined  to  set  sail  for  his 
residence  as  soon  as  the  wind  would  permit. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  December,  therefore,  he 
weighed  anchor,  with  a  light  wind  that  scarcely  filled  the  sails. 
By  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  he  was  within  a  league  and  a  half  of  the 
residence  of  the  cacique  :  the  sea  was  calm  and  smooth,  and  the 
ship  almost  motionless.  The  admiral  having  had  no  sleep  the 
preceding  night,  retired  to  take  a  little  repose.  No  sooner  had  he 
left  the  deck,  than  the  steersman  gave  the  helm  in  charge  to  one 
of  the  ship  boys,  and  went  to  sleep.  This  was  in  direct  violation 
of  an  invariable  order  of  the  admiral,  never  to  intrust  the  helm  to 
the  boys.  The  rest  of  the  mariners  who  had  the  watch,  took  like 
advantage  of  the  absence  of  Columbus,  and  in  a  little  while  the 
whole  crew  was  buried  in  sleep.  While  this  security  reigned  over 
the  ship,  the  treacherous  currents,  which  run 
swiftly  along  this  coast,  carried  her  smoothly,  but 
with  great  violence,  upon  a  sand  bank.  The 
heedless  boy,  feeling  the  rudder  strike,  and  hear- 
ing the  rushing  of  the  sea,  cried  out  for  aid. 
Columbus  was  the  first  to  take  the  alarm,  and 
was  soon  followed  by  the  master  of  the  ship, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  have  been  on  watch,  and  by 
his  delinquent  companions.  The  admiral  ordered 
them  to  carry  out  an  anchor  astern,  that  they 
might  warp  the  vessel  off.  They  sprang  into  the 
boat,  but  being  confused  and  seized  with  a  panic, 
as  men  are  apt  to  be  when  suddenly  awakened  by  an  alarm,  instead 
of  obeying  the  commands  of  Columbus,  they  rowed  off  to  the  other 
caravel.  Vincente  Yafiez  Pinzon,  who  commanded  the  latter,  re- 
proached them  with  their  pusillanimity,  and  refused  to  admit  them 
on  board ;  and,  manning  his  boat,  he  hastened  to  the  assistance  of 
the  admiral. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  ship  swinging  across  the  stream,  had 
been  set  more  and  more  upon  the  bank.  Efforts  were  made  to 
lighten  her,  by  cutting  away  the  mast,  but  in  vain.  The  keel  was 
firmly  bedded  in  the  sand ;  the  seams  opened,  and  the  breakers 
beat  against  her,  until  she  fell  over  on  one  side.  Fortunately,  the 
weather  continued  calm,  otherwise  both  ship  and  crew  must  have 
perished.      The  admiral  abandoned  the  wreck,   and   took  refuge, 


Caris&Dualap  Cln. 

PLACE  OF  SHIPWRECK  OF  THE   SANTA    MARIA. 

COPIED  FROM  THE  MAP   IN  THE  HVDROGRAPHIC  OFFICE 

IN  WASHINGTON. 


153 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


with  his  men,  on  board  of  the  caravel.  He  laid  to  until  daylight, 
sending  messengers  on  shore  to  inform  the  cacique  Guacanagari  of 
his  disastrous  shipwreck. 

When  the  chieftain  heard  of  the  misfortune  of  his  guest,  he 
was  so  much  affected  as  to  shed  tears  ;  and  never,  in  civilized 
country,  were  the  vaunted  rites  of  hospitality  more  scrupulously 
observed,  than  by  this  uncultured  savage.  He  assembled  his  peo- 
ple, and  sent  off  all  his  canoes  to  the  assistance  of  the  admiral,  as- 
suring him,  at  the  same  time,  that  every  thing  he  possessed  was  at 
his  service.  The  effects  were  landed  from  the  wreck,  and  deposited 
near  the  dwelling  of  the  cacique,  and  a  guard  set  over  them,  until 
houses  could  be  prepared,  in  which  they  could  be  stored.  There 
seemed,  however,  no  disposition  among  the  natives  to  take  advant- 
age of  the  misfortune  of  the  strangers,  or  to  plunder  the  treasures 
thus  cast  upon  their  shores,  though  they  must  have  been  inestim- 
able in  their  eyes.  Even  in  transporting  the  effects  from  the  ship, 
they  did  not  attempt  to  pilfer  or  conceal  the  most  trifling  article. 
On  the  contrary,  they  manifested  as  deep  a  concern  at  the  disaster 
of  the  Spaniards,  as  if  it  had  happened  to  themselves,  and  their 
only  study  was  how  they  could  administer  relief  and  consolation. 
Columbus  was  greatly  affected  by  this  unexpected  goodness.  "These 

people,"  said  he  in  his  journal,  intended  for 
the  perusal  of  the  sovereigns,  "love  their 
neighbors  as  themselves,  their  discourse  is 
ever  sweet  and  gentle,  and  accompanied  by  a 
smile.  I  swear  to  your  majesties  there  is 
not  in  the  world  a  better  nation  or  a  better 

When  the  cacique  first 
met  with  Columbus,  he  was 
much  moved  at  beholding 
his  dejection,  and  again  of- 
fered him  every  thing  he 
possessed  that  could  be  of 
service  to  him.  He  invited 
him  on  shore,  where  a  ban- 
quet was  prepared  for  his 
entertainment,  consisting  of 
various    kinds    of    fish    and 


THE   COMMUNAL   EVENING   MEAL. 

INDIANS  RESTORED,    FROM   THE    DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE   EARLY  NAVIGATORS,  AND    THE   DATA 
OBTAINED  FROM  THE   NATIVES   AT   PRESENT  INHABITING  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST 
OF  CENTRAL,  AND  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


J59 


fruit,  and  an  animal  called  Utia  by  the  natives,  which  resembled  a 
coney.  After  the  collation  he  conducted  Columbus  to  the  beautiful 
groves  which  surrounded  his  residence,  where  upwards  of  a  thousand 
of  the  natives  were  assembled,  all  perfectly  naked,  who  performed 
several  of  their  national  games  and  dances.  Thus  did  this  generous 
cacique  try,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  cheer  the  melancholy 
of  his  guest,  showing  a  warmth  of  sympathy,  a  delicacy  of  atten- 
tion, and  an  innate  dignity  and  refinement,  which 
could  not  have  been  expected  from  one  in  his 
savage  state.  He  was  treated  with  great  defer- 
ence by  his  subjects,  and  conducted  himself  towards 
them  with  a  gracious  and  prince-like  majesty.  His 
whole  deportment,  in  the  enthusiastic  eyes  of  Co- 
lumbus, betokened  the  inborn  grace  and  dignity 
of  lofty  lineage. 

When  the  Indians  had  finished  their  games, 
Columbus  gave  them  an  entertainment  in  return, 
calculated  to  impress  them  with  a  formidable 
opinion  of  the  military  power  of  the  Spaniards. 
A  Castilian,  who  had  served  in  the  wars  of 
Granada,  exhibited  his  skill  in  shooting  with  a 
Moorish  bow,  to  the  great  admiration  of  the  ca- 
cique. A  cannon  and  an  arquebuss  were  likewise 
discharged  ;  at  the  sound  of  which  the  Indians 
fell  to  the  ground,  as  though  they  had  been 
struck  by  a  thunderbolt.  When  they  saw  the 
effect  of  the  ball  rending  and  shivering  the  trees, 
they  were  filled  with  dismay.  On  being  told,  how- 
ever, that  the  Spaniards  would  protect  them  with 
these  arms,  against  the  invasions  of  their  dreaded 
enemies,  the  Caribs,  their  alarm  was  changed  into 
confident  exultation,  considering  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  the  sons  of  heaven,  who  had  come 
from  the  skies,  armed  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
placed  a  kind  of  coronet  of  gold  on  the  head  of  Columbus,  and  hung 
plates  of  the  same  metal  round  his  neck,  and  he  dispensed  liberal 
presents  among  his  followers.  Whatever  trifles  Columbus  gave  in 
return  were  regarded  with  reverence  as  celestial  gifts,  and  were 
said  by  the  Indians  to  have  come  from  Turey,  or  heaven. 


ARQUEBUSES,  WITH  CRANE  ATTACI 
CENTURY. 
ARTILLERY  MUSEUM, 


IMENT,    END  OF   16TH 
PARIS. 


The 


cacique 


160  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

The  extreme  kindness  of  the  cacique,  the  gentleness  of  his 
people,  and  the  quantities  of  gold  daily  brought  by  the  natives,  and 
exchanged  for  trifles,  contributed  to  console  Columbus  for  his  mis- 
fortunes. When  Guacanagari  perceived  the  great  value  which  the 
admiral  attached  to  gold,  he  assured  him,  by  signs,  that  there  was 
a  place,  not  far  off,  among  the  mountains,  where  it  abounded  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  be  regarded  with  indifference ;  and  he  promised 
to  procure  him,  from  thence,  as  much  as  he  desired.  Columbus 
gathered  many  other  particulars  concerning  this  golden  region.  It 
was  called  Cibao,  and  lay  among  high  and  rugged  mountains.  The 
cacique  who  ruled  over  it  owned  many  rich  mines,  and  had  banners 
of  wrought  gold.  Columbus  fancied  that  the  name  of  Cibao  must 
be  a  corruption  of  Cipango,  and  flattered  himself  that  this  was  the 
very  island  productive  of  gold  and  spices,  mentioned  by  Marco  Polo. 

Three  houses  had  been  given  to  the  shipwrecked  crew  for  their 
residence.  Here,  living  on  shore,  and  mingling  freely  with  the  na- 
tives, they  became  fascinated  by  their  easy  and  idle  mode  of  life. 
They  were  governed  by  their  caciques  with  an  absolute,  but  patri- 
archal and  easy  rule,  aud  existed  in  that  state  of  primitive  and 
savage  simplicity  which  some  philosophers  have  fondly  pictured  as 
the  most  enviable  on  earth.  "  It  is  certain,"  says  old  Peter  Martyr, 
"  that  the  land  among  these  people  is  as  common  as  the  sun  and 
water ;  and  that  (  mine  and  thine,'  the  seeds  of  all  mischief,  have 
no  place  with  them.  They  are  content  with  so  little,  that,  in  so 
large  a  country,  they  have  rather  superfluity  than  scarceness ;  so 
that  they  seem  to  live  in  a  golden  world,  without  toil,  in  open  gar- 
dens, neither  intrenched,  nor  shut  up  by  walls  or  hedges.  They 
deal  truly  with  one  another,  without  laws,  or  books,  or  judges." 
In  fact,  they  seemed  to  disquiet  themselves  about  nothing ;  a  few 
fields,  cultivated  almost  without  labor,  furnished  roots  and  vege- 
tables, their  groves  were  laden  with  delicious  fruit,  and  the  coast 
and  rivers  abounded  with  fish.  Softened  by  the  indulgence  of  na- 
ture, a  great  part  of  the  day  was  passed  by  them  in  indolent  repose, 
in  that  luxury  of  sensation  inspired  by  a  serene* sky  and  voluptuous 
climate,  and  in  the  evening  they  danced  in  their  fragrant  groves, 
to  their  national  songs,  or  the  rude  sound  of  their  sylvan  drums. 

When  the  Spanish  mariners  looked  back  upon  their  own  toil- 
some and  painful  life,  and  reflected  upon  the  cares  and  hardships 
that  must  still  be  their  lot,  should  they  return  to  Europe,  they 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


161 


regarded  with  a  wistful  eye  the  easy  and  idle  existence  of  these 
Indians,  and  many  of  them,  representing  to  the  admiral  the  diffi- 
culty and  danger  of  embarking  so  many  persons  in  one  small  cara- 
vel, entreated  permission  to  remain  in  the  island.  The  request 
immediately  suggested  to  Columbus  the  idea  of  forming  the  germ 
of  a  future  colony.  The  wreck  of  the  caravel  would  furnish  mate- 
rials and  arms  for  a  fortress ;  and  the  people  who  should  remain 
in  the  island,  could  explore  it,  learn  the  language  of  the  natives, 
and  collect  gold,  while  the  admiral  returned  to  Spain  for  reinforce- 
ments. Guacanagari  was  overjoyed  at  finding  that  some  of  these 
wonderful  strangers  were  to  remain  for  the  defense  of  his  island, 
and  that  the  admiral  intended  to  revisit  it.  He  readily  gave  per- 
mission to  build  the  fort,  and  his  subjects  eagerly  aided  in  its  con- 
struction, little  dreaming  that  they  were  assisting  to  place  on  their 
necks  the  galling  yoke  of  perpetual  and  toilsome  slavery. 

While  thus  employed,  a  report  was  brought  to  Columbus,  by 
certain  Indians,  that  another  ship  was  at  anchor  in  a  river  at  the 


INDIANS   PREPARING  FOR  ONE  OF  THEIR  CEREMONIAL   DANCES. 

RESTORED  FROM   DESCRIPTION  FURNISHEO  BY  PETER  MARTYR,  AND  DATA  OBTAINED  FROM  THE  NATIVES  INHABITING  THE  ATLANTIC  COAST  OF  CENTRAL  AND 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 


162  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

eastern  end  of  the  island ;  he  concluded  it  of  course  to  be  the  Pinta, 
and  immediately  dispatched  a  cauoe  in  quest  of  it,  with  a  letter  for 
Pinzon,  urging  him  to  rejoin  him  immediately.  The  canoe  coasted 
the  island  for  thirty  leagues,  but  returned  without  having  heard  or 
seen  any  thing  of  the  Pinta,  and  all  the  anxiety  of  the  admiral  was 
revived ;  should  that  vessel  be  lost,  the  whole  success  of  his  expe- 
dition would  depend  on  the  return  of  his  own  crazy  bark,  across  an 
immense  expanse  of  ocean,  where  the  least  accident  might  bury  it 
in  the  deep,  and  with  it  all  record  of  his  discovery.  He  dared  not 
therefore  prolong  his  voyage,  and  explore  those  magnificent  regions, 
which  seemed  to  invite  on  every  hand,  but  determined  to  return 
immediately  to  Spain. 

So  great  was  the  activity  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  assistance 
of  the  natives,  that  in  ten  days  the  fortress  was  completed.  It 
consisted  of  a  strong  wooden  tower,  with  a  vault  beneath,  and  the 
whole  surrounded  by  a  wide  ditch.  It  was  supplied  with  the  am- 
munition, and  mounted  with  the  cannon  saved  from  the  wreck,  and 
was  considered  sufficient  to  overawe  and  repulse  the  whole  of  this 
naked  and  unwarlike  people.  Columbus  gave  the  fortress  and  har- 
bor the  name  of  La  Navidad,  or  the  Nativity,  in  memorial  of  hav- 
ing been  preserved  from  the  wreck  of  his  ship  on  Christmas  day. 
From  the  number  of  volunteers  that  offered  to  remain,  he  selected 
thirty-nine  of  the  most  trustworthy,  putting  them  under  the  com- 
mand of  Diego  de  Arana,  notary  and  alguazil  of  the  armament. 
In  case  of  his  death,  Pedro  Gutierrez  was  to  take  the  command, 
and  he,  in  like  case,  to  be  succeeded  by  Rodrigo  de  Escobido.  He 
charged  the  men,  in  the  most  emphatic  manner;  to  be  obedient  to 
their  commanders,  respectful  to  Guacanagari  and  his  chieftains, 
and  circumspect  and  friendly  in  their  intercourse  with  the  natives. 
He  warned  them  not  to  scatter  themselves  asunder,  as  their  safety 
would  depend  upon  their  united  force,  and  not  to  stray  beyond  the 
territory  of  the  friendly  cacique.  He  enjoined  it  upon  Arana,  and 
the  other  commanders,  to  employ  themselves  in  gaining  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  island,  in  amassing  gold  and  spices,  and  in  searching 
for  a  more  safe  and  convenient  harbor  for  that  settlement. 

Before  his  departure,  he  gave  the  natives  another  military  ex- 
hibition, to  increase  their  awe  of  the  prowess  of  the  white  men. 
The  Spaniards  performed  skirmishes,  and  mock  fights,  with  swords, 
bucklers,  lances,  crossbows,  and  fire-arms.     The  Indians  were  as- 


(i63) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


I65 


tonished  at  the  keenness  of  the  steeled  weapons,  and  the  deadly 
power  of  the  crossbows  and  nanskets  ;  but  nothing  equalled  their 
awe  and  admiration,  when  the  cannon  were  discharged  from  the 
fortess,  wrapping  it  in  smoke,  shaking  the  forests  with  their  thun- 
der, and  shivering  the  stoutest  trees. 

When  Columbus  took  leave  of  Guacanagari,  the  kind-hearted 
cacique  shed  many  tears,  for,  while  he  had  been  awed  by  the  digni- 
fied demeanor  of  the  admiral,  and  the  idea  of  his  superhuman  nat- 
ure, he  had  been  completely  won  by  the  benignity  of  his  manners. 
The  seamen  too  had  made  many  pleasant  connections  among  the 
Indians,  and  they  parted  with  mutual  regret.  The  sorest  parting, 
however,  was  with  their  comrades  who  remained  behind;  from  that 
habitual  attachment  formed  by  a  companionship  in  perils  and  ad- 
ventures. When  the  signal  gun  was  fired,  they  gave  a  parting 
cheer  to  the  gallant  handful  of  volunteers  thus  left  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  an  unknown  world,  who  echoed  their  cheering  as  they  gazed 
wistfully  after  them  from  the  beach,  but  who  were  destined  never 
to  welcome  their  return. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


RETURN   VOYAGE.     VIOLENT  STORMS.     ARRIVAL  AT   PORTUGAL.      (1493.) 


T  was  on  the  4th  of  January  that  Co- 
lumbus set  sail  from  La  Navidad  on 
his  return  to  Spain.  On  the  6th,  as 
he  was  beating  along  the  coast,  with  a 
head  wind,  a  sailor  at  the  mast-head 
cried  out  that  there  was  a  sail  at  a  dis- 
tance, standing  towards  them.  To 
their  great  joy  it  proved  to  be  the 
Pinta,  which  came  sweeping  before  the 
wind  with  flowing  canvass.  On  join- 
T  a")^i^  j£a)  vl\        *n&  *-he  admiral,  Pinzon   endeavored  to 

excuse  his  desertion,  by  saying  that  he 
had  been  separated  from  him  by  stress 
r  of  weather,  and  had  ever  since  been  seek- 
ing him.  Columbus  listened  passively  but 
incredulously  to  these  excuses,  avoiding  any 
words  that  might  produce  altercations,  and 
disturb  the  remainder  of  the  voyage.  He  ascertained,  afterwards, 
that  Pinzon  had  parted  company  intentionally,  and  had  steered 
directly  east,  in  quest  of  a  region  where  the  Indians  on  board  of 
his  vessel  had  assured  him  he  would  find  gold  in  abundance.  They 
had  guided  him  to  Hispaniola,  where  he  had  been  for  some  time  in 
a  river  about  fifteen  leagues  east  of  La  Navidad,  trading  with  the 
natives.  He  had  collected  a  large  quantity  of  gold,  one  half  of  which 
he  retained  as  captain,  and  the  rest  he  divided  among  his  men, 
to  secure  their  secrecy  and  fidelity.  On  leaving  the  river,  he  had 
carried  off  four  Indian  men  and  two  girls,  to  be  sold  in  Spain. 


(166) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


167 


Columbus  sailed  for  this  river,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Rio  de  Gracia,  but  it  long  continued  to  be  known  as  the  river  of 
Martin  Alouzo.  Here  he  ordered  the  four  men  and  two  girls  to  be 
dismissed,  well  clothed  and  with  many  presents,  to  atone  for  the 
wrong  they  had  experienced,  and  to  allay  the  hostile  feeling  it 
might  have  caused  among  the  natives.  This  restitution  was  not 
made  without  great  unwillingness,  and  many  angry  words,  on  the 
part  of  Pinzon. 

After  standing  for  some  distance  further  along  the  coast,  they 
anchored  in  a  vast  bay,  or  rather  gulf,  three  leagues  in  breadth,  and 
extending  so  far  inland  that  Columbus  at  first  supposed  it  to  be  an 
arm  of  the  sea.  Here  he  was  visited  by  the  people  of  the  mount- 
ains of  Ciguay,  a  hardy  and  warlike  race,  quite  different  from  the 
gentle  and  peaceful  people  they  had  hitherto  met  with  on  this  isl- 
and. They  were  of  fierce  aspect,  and  hideously  painted,  and  their 
heads  were  decorated  with  feathers.  They  had  bows  and  arrows, 
war  clubs,  and  swords  made  of  palm  wood,  so  hard  and  heavy  that 
a  blow  from  them  would  cleave  through  a  helmet  to  the  very 
brain.  At  first  sight  of  these  ferocious-looking  people,  Colum- 
bus supposed  them  to  be  the  Caribs,  so  much  dreaded  throughout 
these  seas ;  but  on  asking  for  the  Caribbean  Islands,  the  Indians 
still  pointed  to  the  eastward. 

With  these  people  the  Spaniards  had  a  skirmish,  in  which  sev- 
eral of  the 
Indians 
were  slain. 
This  was  the 
first  contest 
they  had  had 
with  the  in- 
habitants of 
the  new 
world,  and 
the  first  time 
that  native 
blood  had 
been  shed  by 
white  men. 
From    this 


SKIRMISH    OF   COLUMBUS    WITH    THE 


VES    OF    THE    BAY    OF    SAMANA. 


l6S  THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 

skirmish  Columbus  called  the  place  El  Golfo  de  las  Fleches,  or  the 
gulf  of  Arrows ;  but  it  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  the  Gulf  of  Sa- 
mana.  He  lamented  that  all  his  exertions  to  maintain  an  amicable 
intercourse  had  been  ineffectual,  and  anticipated  further  hostility  on 
the  part  of  the  natives ;  but  on  the  following  day,  they  approached 
the  Spaniards  as  freely  and  confidently  as  if  nothing  had  happened; 
the  cacique  came  on  board  with  only  three  attendants,  and  throughout 
all  their  subsequent  dealings  they  betrayed  no  signs  of  lurking  fear 
or  enmity.  This  frank  and  confiding  conduct,  so  indicative  of  a  brave 
and  generous  nature,  was  properly  appreciated  by  Columbus ;  he 
entertained  the  cacique  with  great  distinction,  and  at  parting  made 
many  presents  to  him  and  his  attendants.  This  cacique  of  Ciguay 
was  named  Mayonabex,  and  in  subsequent  events  of  this  history, 
will  be  found  to  acquit  himself  with  valor  and  magnanimity,  under 
the  most  trying  circumstances. 

Columbus,  on  leaving  the  bay,  took  four  young  Indians  to 
guide  him  to  the  Caribbean  Islands,  situated  to  the  east,  of  which 
they  gave  him  very  interesting  accounts,  as  well  as  of  the  island  of 
Mantinino,  said  to  be  inhabited  by  Amazons.  A  favorable  breeze 
sprang  up,  however,  for  the  voyage  homeward,  and,  seeing  gloom 
and  impatience  in  the  countenances  of  his  men,  at  the  idea  of  di- 
verging from  their  route,  he  gave  up  his  intention  of  visiting  these 
islands  for  the  present,  and  made  all  sail  for  Spain. 

The  trade  winds,  which  had  been  so  propitious  on  the  outward 
voyage,  were  equally  adverse  to  a  return.  The  favorable  breeze 
soon  died  away;  light  winds  from  the  east,  and  frequent  calms, 
succeeded ;  but  they  had  intervals  of  favorable  weather,  and  by  the 
1 2th  of  February  they  had  made  such  progress  as  to  begin  to  flatter 
themselves  with  the  hopes  of  soon  beholding  land.  The  wind  now 
came  on  to  blow  violently;  on  the  following  evening  there  were 
three  flashes  of  lightning  in  the  north-northeast,  from  which  signs 
Columbus  predicted  an  approaching  tempest.  It  soon  burst  upon 
them  with  frightful  violence  ;  their  small  and  crazy  vessels  were 
little  fitted  for  the  wild  storms  of  the  Atlantic ;  all  night  they  were 
obliged  to  scud  under  bare  poles  at  the  mercy  of  the  elements.  As 
the  morning  dawned,  there  was  a  transient  pause,  and  they  made 
a  little  sail,  but  the  wind  rose  with  redoubled  fury  from  the  south, 
and  increased  in  the  night,  the  vessels  laboring  terribly  in  a  cross 
sea,  which  threatened  at  each  moment  to  overwhelm  them,  or  dash 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


169 


them  to  pieces.  The  tempest  still  augmenting,  they  were  obliged 
again  to  scud  before  the  wind.  The  admiral  made  signal  lights  for 
the  Pinta  to  keep  in  company ;  for  some  time  she  replied  by  simi- 
lar signals,  but  she  was  separated  by  the  violence  of  the  storm  ; 
her  lights  gleamed  more  and  more  distant,  until  they  ceased  en- 
tirely. When  the  day  dawned,  the  sea  presented  a  frightful  waste 
of  wild,  broken  waves,  lashed  into  fury  by  the  gale  ;  Columbus 
looked  round  anxiously  for  the  Pinta,  but  she  was  nowhere  to  be 
seen. 

Throughout  a  dreary  day  the  helpless  bark  was  driven  along 
bv    the   tempest.      Seeing  .     -  ,-;^.- 


all  human  skill  baffled  and 
confounded,  Columbus  en- 
deavored to  propitiate 
Heaven  by  solemn  vows. 
Lots  were  cast  to  perform 
pilgrimages  and  peniten- 
ces, most  of  which  fell 
upon  Columbus ;  among 
other  things,  he  was  to 
perform  a  solemn  mass, 
and  to  watch  and  pray  all 
night  in  the  chapel  of  the 
convent  of  Santa  Clara,  at 
Moguer.  Various  private 
vows  were  made  by  the 
seamen,  and  one  by  the 
admiral  and  the  whole 
crew,  that,  if  they  were 
spared  to  reach  the  land,  they  would  walk  in  procession,  barefooted, 
and  in  their  shirts,  to  offer  up  thanksgivings  in  some  church 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin. 

The  heavens,  however,  seemed  deaf  to  all  their  vows ;  the 
storm  grew  still  more  furious,  and  every  one  gave  himself  up  for 
lost.  During  this  long  and  awful  conflict  of  the  elements,  the 
mind  of  Columbus  was  a  prey  to  the  most  distressing  anxiety. 
He  was  harassed  by  the  repinings  of  his  crew,  who  cursed  the 
hour  of  their  le  iving  their  country,  and  their  want  of  resolution 
in  not  compelling  him  to  abandon  the  voyage.     He  was  afflicted, 


PROCESSION    OF    PENITENTS. 

COSTUMES  EXHIBITED  IN   1874  IN  THE  HISTORICAL  MUSEUM  OF  COSTUMES,   PARIS. 


170 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


also,  when  he  thought  of  his  two  sons,  who  would  be  left  destitute 
by  his  death.  But  he  had  another  source  of  distress,  more  intol- 
erable than  death  itself.  It  was  highly  probable  that  the  Pinta  had 
foundered  in  the  storm.  In  such  case,  the  history  of  his  discovery 
would  depend  upon  his  own  feeble  bark ;  one  surge  of  the  ocean 
might  bury  it  forever  in  oblivion,  and  his  name  only  remain  as 

that  of  a  desperate  adventurer, 
who  had  perished  in  pursuit  of 
a  chimera. 

In  the  midst  of  these  gloomy 
reflections,  an  expedient  sug- 
gested itself,  by  which,  though 
he  and  his  ships  might  perish, 
the  glory  of  his  achievements 
might  survive  to  his  name,  and 
its  advantages  be  secured  to  his 
sovereigns.  He  wrote  on  parch- 
ment a  brief  account  of  his  dis- 
covery, and  of  his  having  taken 
possession  of  the  newly  found 
lands  in  the  name  of  their 
Catholic  majesties.  This  he 
sealed  and  directed  to  the  king 
and  queen,  and  superscribed  a 
promise  of  a  thousand  ducats  to 
whomsoever  should  deliver  the 
packet  unopened.  He  then 
wrapped  it  in  a  waxed  cloth, 
which  he  placed  in  the  center  of 
a  cake  of  wax,  and  inclosing  the 
whole  in  a  cask,  threw  it  into 
the  sea.  A  copy  of  this  memo- 
rial he  inclosed  in  a  similar  manner,  and  placed  it  upon  the  poop 
of  his  vessel,  so  that,  should  the  caravel  sink,  the  cask  might  float 
off  and  survive. 

Happily,  these  precautions,  though  wise,  were  superfluous ;  at 
sunset,  there  was  a  streak  of  clear  sky  in  the  west,  the  wind  shifted 
to  that  quarter,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  February,  they 
came  in  sight  of  land.     The  transports  of  the  crew  at  once  more 


J  THROWS  A  BRIEF  SUMMARY  OF  THE  SHIPS  LOG,  SECURELY  ENCASED  IN  WAX,  AND 
PLACED  IN  THE  CENTER  OF  A  BARREL,  OVERBOARD. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


I7I 


beholding  the  old  world,  were  almost  equal  to  those  they  had  expe- 
rienced on  discovering  the  new.  For  two  or  three  days,  however, 
the  wind  again  became  contrary,  and  they  remained  hovering  in 
sight  of  land,  of  which  they  only  caught  glimpses  through  the  mist 
and  rack.  At  length  they  came  to  anchor,  at  the  island  of  St.  Ma- 
ry's, the  most  southern  of  the  Azores,  and  a  possession  of  the  crown 
of  Portugal.  An  ungenerous  reception,  however,  awaited  the  poor 
tempest-tossed  mariners,  on  their  return  to  the  abode  of  civilized 
man,  far  different  from  the  kindness  and  hospitality  they  had  expe- 
rienced among  the  savages  of  the  new  world.  Columbus  had  sent 
one  half  of  the  crew  on  shore,  to  fulfill  the  vow  of  a  barefooted  pro- 
cession to  a  hermitage  o'r  chapel  of  the  Virgin,  which  stood  on  a 
solitary  part  of  the  coast,  and 
awaited  their  return  to  perform 
the  same  ceremony  with  the  re- 
mainder of  his  crew.  Scarcely  had 
they  begun  their  prayers  and 
thanksgiving,  when  a  party  of 
horse  and  foot,  headed  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  island,  surrounded 
the  hermitage  and  took  them  all 
prisoners.  The  real  object  of  this 
outrage  was  to  get  possession  of 
the  person  of  Columbus ;  for  the 
king  of  Portugal,  jealous  lest  his 
enterprise  might  interfere  with  his 
own  discoveries,  had  sent  orders  to 
his  commanders  of  islands  and  distant  ports,  to  seize  and  detain  him 
wherever  he  should  be  met  with. 

Having  failed  in  this  open  attempt,  the  governor  next  endeav- 
ored to  get  Columbus  in  his  power  by  stratagem,  but  was  equally 
unsuccessful.  A  violent  altercation  took  place  between  them,  and 
Columbus  threatened  him  with  the  vengeance  of  his  sovereigns. 
At  length,  after  two  or  three  days'  detention,  the  sailors  who  had 
been  captured  in  the  chapel  were  released  ;  the  governor  pretended 
to  have  acted  through  doubts  of  Columbus  having  a  regular  com- 
mission, but  that  being  now  convinced  of  his  being  in  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  he  was  ready  to  yield  him  every 
service  in  his  power.     The  admiral  did  not  put  his  offers  to  the 


THE  GOVERNOR  OF  ST.    MARY'S  ATTEMPTS  TO  ARREST  COLUMBUS. 


172  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

proof.  The  wind  became  favorable  for  the  continuation  of  bis  voy- 
age, and  be  again  set  sail,  on  tbe  24th  of  February.  After  two  or 
tbree  days  of  pleasant  sailing,  tbere  was  a  renewal  of  tempestuous 
weatber.  About  midnight  of  the  2d  of  March,  the  caravel  was 
struck  by  a  squall,  which  rent  all  her  sails,  and  threatened  instant 
destruction.  The  crew  were  again  reduced  to  despair,  and  made 
vows  of  fastings  and  pilgrimages.  The  storm  raged  throughout 
the  succeeding  day,  during  which,  from  various  signs,  they  consid- 
ered themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  land,  which  they  supposed  must 
be  the  coast  of  Portugal.  The  turbulence  of  the  following  night 
was  dreadful.  The  sea  was  broken,  wild,  and  mountainous,  the 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the  lightning  flashed,  and  the  thunder 
pealed  from  various  parts  of  the  heavens. 

In  the  first  watch  of  this  fearful  night,  the  seamen  gave  tbe 
usually  welcome  cry  of  land,  but  it  only  increased  their  alarm,  for 
they  were  ignorant  of  their  situation,  and  dreaded  being  driven  on 
shore,  or  dashed  upon  the  rocks.  Taking  in  sail,  therefore,  they 
endeavored  to  keep  to  sea  as  much  as  possible.  At  daybreak,  on 
tbe  4th  of  March,  they  found  themselves  off  the  rock  of  Cintra,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tagus.  Though  distrustful  of  the  good  will  of 
Portugal,  Columbus  had  no  alternative  but  to  run  in  for  shelter, 
and  he  accordingly  anchored  about  three  o'clock  in  the  river,  oppo- 
site to  Rastello.  The  inhabitants  came  off  from  various  parts  of 
the  shore,  to  congratulate  him  on  what  they  deemed  a  miraculous 
preservation,  for  they  had  been  watching  the  vessel  the  whole 
morning,  with  great  anxiety,  and  putting  up  prayers  for  her 
safety.  The  oldest  mariners  of  the  place  assured  him,  that  they 
had  never  known  so  tempestuous  a  winter.  Such  were  the  diffi- 
culties and  perils  with  which  Columbus  had  to  contend  on  his 
return  to  Europe ;  had  one  tenth  part  of  them  beset  his  outward 
voyage,  his  factious  crew  would  have  risen  in  arms  against  the 
enterprise,  and  he  never  would  have  discovered  the  New  World. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


VISIT  OF   COLUMBUS  TO  THE   COURT  OF   PORTUGAL.     ARRIVAL  AT   PALOS.     (1493.) 


IMMEDIATELY  on  his  arrival  in  the  Tagus,  Colnmbus 
dispatched  a  courier  to  the  king  and  queen  of  Spain, 
with  tidings  of  his  discovery.  He  wrote  also  to  the  king 
of  Portugal,  entreating  permission  to  go  to  Lisbon  with 
his  vessel,  as  a  report  had  got  abroad  that  she  was  laden 
with  gold,  and  he  felt  himself  insecure  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  a  place  like  Rastello,  inhabited  by  need}^  and  ad- 
venturous people.  At  the  same  time  he  stated  the  route 
and  events  of  his  voyage,  lest  the  king  should  suspect 
him  of  having  been  in  the  route  of  the  Portuguese  dis- 
coveries. 

The  tidings  of  this  wonderful  bark,  freighted  with  the  people 
and  productions  of  a  newly  discovered  world,  filled  ^ 
all  Lisbon  with  astonishment.    For  several  days  the 
Tagus  was  covered  with  barges  and  boats  going  to 
and    from  it.     Among    the    visitors    were    various 
officers  of  the  crown,  and  cavaliers  of  high  distinc- 
tion.    All  hung  with  rapt  attention  upon  the  ac- 
counts of  the   voyage,  and  gazed    with    insatiable  I 
curiosity  upon  the  plants,  and  animals,  and  above  j 
all    upon    the    inhabitants    of   the 
new    world.     The    enthusiasm    of 
some,    and  the  avarice   of  others, 
was  excited ;  while  many  repined  at 
the  incredulity  of  the  king  and  his 
counselors,  by  which    so  grand   a 
discovery  had  been  forever  lost  to 
Portugal. 


10 


THE  ROYAL  CASTLE  OF  BELEM,  NEAR  LISBON.     EXQUISITE  EXAMPLE  OF  HISPANO-MAURESQUE 
ARCHITECTURE. 

(■73) 


l74 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


On  the  Stli  of  March,  Columbus  received  a  message  from  King 
John,  congratulating  him  upon  his  arrival,  and  inviting  him  to  the 
court  at  Valparaiso,  about  nine  leagues  from  Lisbon.  The  king  at 
the  same  time  ordered,  that  anything  which  the  admiral  required 
for  himself  or  his  vessel  should  be  furnished  free  of  cost. 

Columbus  distrusted  the  good  faith  of  the  king,  and  set  out 
reluctantly  for  the  court;  but  his  reception  was  what  might  have 
been  expected  from  an  enlightened  and  liberal  prince.  On  ap- 
proaching the  royal  residence,  he  was  met  by  the  principal  person- 
ages of  the  king's  household,  and  conducted  with  great  cere- 
mony to  the  palace.  The  king  welcomed  him  to  Portugal,  and 
congratulated  him  on  the    glorious  result  of  his   enterprise.     He 

ordered  him  to  seat  himself  in 
his  presence,  an  honor  only 
granted  to  persons  of  roj^al 
dignity,  and  assured  him  that 
every  thing  in  his  kingdom  was 
at  the  service  of  his  sovereigns 
and  himself.  They  had  re- 
peated conversations  about  the 
events  of  the  voyage,  and  the 
king  made  minute  inquiries  as 
to  the  soil,  productions,  and 
people  of  the  newly  discovered 
countries,  and  the  routes  by 
which  Columbus  had  sailed. 
The  king  listened  with  seeming 
pleasure  to  his  replies,  but  was 
secretly  grieved  at  the  thoughts 
that  this  splendid  enterprise 
had  been  offered  to  him  and  re- 
fused. He  was  uneasy,  also,  lest 
this  undefined  discovery  should 
in  some  way  interfere  with  his 
own  territories,  comprehended 
in  the  Papal  bull,  which  granted 
to  the  crown  of  Portugal  all  the 
lands  it  should  discover  from 
Cape  Non  to  the  Indies. 


flT€pMtok  £brHtoforf  €ohm :  caf  etienofrra  mulru  debit*,  de 
^nfufie  "Jndif  fop^  <g3ngem  nupcr  touenrie-Bd  quae  perquf  / 
rendaa  octauo  anrta  menfc  aufpidj'e i  ere  in  uteri  ffimf  f  ernam 
di  Wparatarum  "Regie  rraffue  fperatsad  0?agnificum  dftm  fl« 
pbaelem  8anri&riufckm  leraiifTimi  "Regie  2L"efaurariu  miffat 
quant  nobilfa  aclttttratue  rtr  SlianderdeCofco  abTMfpano 
Ideomare  in  latinum  concern  r :  tertio  kafe  0?si)*ft)>cccC'KUj* 
poori  fkarue  Slcwndri  Sati  Mono  pifmo. 

QTJonfam  fufcepte  pioulnrf  e  rem  perfectam  me  cZfccatum 
ftteffe  gratum  ribi  fo:e  frio:  baa  conftfrui  ejearare:  qn?  re 
rniufcuiufqj res  in  boc nofrro  irincre  geftf  inner, teqj  ad/ 
moneantJ  foicdtmorertiodiepofrcp  cBadibuedifceffi  in  mare 
Jndicu  peruenisrbi  plurimaa  i  nfulae  innumerte  babiratae  boc 
minibus  repperuquarnm  omnium  p?o  foeliciffrmo  "Rege  noftro 
f«?  conio  ctlebiaro  i  rer  il  lis  ejrrcnfie  conrradieenrr  nemine  pof/ 
feffionemaccfpKprimrcpearumdiui  8aluaro!ienomen  fmpo/ 
fuheuiuafretua  aurilio  ram  ad banc:$ ad cereraa  alias perue/ 
nimua>€am  *o  Jndi  ©uanabanin  rocanr«Bliarom  eria  want 
quanqj  nouo  nomine  nuncupaui-fiuippe  alia  infulam  Sancc| 
jbarieConceprionia-aliam  /ernandmam  •  aliam  t»pfabcllam» 
flliam  ^obanami  fie  de  reliquie  appellari  mfiVlQnampzimum 
In  earn  infulam  qua  dudum  3obana  vocari  diri  appulimue:iu 
irra  ciu9  li  rrue  occidenrem  rerfua  aliquanrulum  pjoceffi  :tamcp 
cam  magna  nullo  reperro  fine  inueni:rrnon  infulam:  fedeontf 
nen  rem  <£l>arai  pzouinriam  efle  crediderim:rtulla  rfi  ridens  op/ 
.pida  munidpiaue  in  maririmie  fira  conftnib'pzj  rtr  aliquoa  vu 
coa  i  piedia  rufhca:cum  qnou  incolie  loqui  nequibam-quarefl 
ntul  acnoavidebanr  furn'piebanrfugam'pzogrediebarirlrra: 
eriftimane  aliqua  me  prbem  PillafBeinuenturum-JDemcp  rides 
q>  longe  admodum  pjogrefua  nibil  noui  emergebat:i  bmoi  via 
noa  ad  Seprenrrionem  deffrcbar:q>  ipfcfugcrcocoprabaitcrria 
f  tenim  regnabar  b  juma:  ad  fluftrnmcp  erat  in  voro  corenderej 

COPY  OF  THE  FIRST  PAGE  OF  THE  FiRST  LATIN  PAMPHLET  WHICH   BROUGHT  THE  NEWS  TO  THE  WORLD 

OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

ORIGINAL    IN    THE    BRITISH    MUSEUM. 


('75) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


177 


On  suggesting  these  doubts  to  his  counsellors,  they  eagerly 
encouraged  them,  for  some  of  them  were  the  very  persons  who  had 
scoffed  at  Columbus  as  a  dreamer,  and  his  success  covered  them 
with  confusion.  They  declared  that  the  color,  hair,  and  manners 
of  the  natives,  brought  in  the  caravel,  agreed  exactly  with  the 
descriptions  given  of  the  people  of  that  part  of  India  granted  to 
Portugal  by  the  Papal  bull.  Others  observed  that  there  was  but 
little  distance  between  the  Terceira  Islands  and  those  which  Colum- 
bus had  discovered ;  the  latter  therefore  clearly  belonged  to  Portu- 
gal. Others  endeavored  to  awaken  the  anger  of  the  king,  by 
declaring  that  Columbus  had  talked  in  an  arrogant  and  vain- 
glorious tone  of  his  discovery,  merely  to  revenge  himself  upon  the 
monarch  for  having  rejected  his  propositions. 

Seeing  the  king  deeply  perturbed  in  spirit,  some  even  went  so 
far  as  to  propose,  as  an  effectual  means  of  impeding  the  prosecution 
of  these  enterprises,  that  Columbus  should  be  assassinated.  It 
would  be  an  easy  matter  to  take  advantage  of  his  lofty  deportment, 
to  pique  his  pride,  provoke  him  to  an  altercation,  and  suddenly 
despatch  him  as  if  in  casual  and  honorable  encounter. 

Happily,  the  king  had  too  much  magnanimity  to  adopt  such 
wicked  and  dastardly  counsel.  Though  secretly  grieved  and  mor- 
tified that  the  rival  power  of  Spain 
should  have  won  this  triumph  which 
he  had  rejected,  yet  he  did  justice 
to  the  great  merit  of  Columbus,  and 
honored  him  as  a  distinguished 
benefactor  to  mankind.  He  felt  it 
his  duty,  also,  as  a  generous  prince, 
to  protect  all  strangers  driven  by 
adverse  fortune  to  his  ports.  Others 
of  his  council  advised  that  he  should 
secretly  fit  out  a  powerful  armament 
and  despatch  it,  under  guidance  of 
two  Portuguese  mariners  who  had  sailed 
with  Columbus,  to  take  possession  of  the  newly-discovered 
country ;  he  might  then  settle  the  question  of  right  with  Spain 
by  an  appeal  to  arms.  This  counsel,  in  which  there  was  a  mixture 
of  courage  and  craft,  was  more  relished  by  the  king,  and  he  resolved 
to  put  it  promptly  in  execution. 


COLUMBUS  ESCORTED  BACK  TO  HIS  SHIPS 
BY  THE  PORTUGUESE  CAVALIERS. 


i78 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


In  the  mean  time,  Columbus,  after  being  treated  with  the  most 
honorable  attentions,  was  escorted  back  to  his  ship  by  a  numerous 
train     of     cavaliers     of    the  ._  -» 

court,  and  on  the  way  paid  a 
visit  to  the  queen  at  a  mon- 
astery of  San  Antonio  at 
Villa  Franca,  where  he  was 
listened  to  with  wonder,  as 
he  related  the  events  of  his 
voyage    to   her   majesty   and 


the  ladies  of  her  court.  The  king  had 
offered  him  a  free  passage  by  land  to 
Spain,  at  the  royal  expense;  but  as  the 
weather  had  moderated,  he  preferred  to 
return  in  his  caravel.  Putting  to  sea  on 
the  13th  of  March,  therefore,  he  arrived 
safely  at  Palos  on  the  15th,  having  taken 
not  quite  seven  months  and  a  half  to 
accomplish  this  uios'l  momentous  of  all  maritime  enterprises. 

The  triumphant  return  of  Columbus  was  a  prodigious  event 
in  the  little  community  of  Palos,  every  member  of  which  was  more 
or  less   interested  in  the  fate  of  the  expedition.      Many  had   la- 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  SHIPS  OF  COLUMBUS  IN  THE  HARBOR  OF 

PALOS,  SALUTED  BY  THE  SHIPS  AT  ANCHOR, 

WITH   SUCH  HONORS  AS  ARE  PAID  TO 

SOVEREIGNS  ONLY 


OF   COLUMBUS.  179 

uiented  their  friends  as  lost,  while  imagination  had  lent  mysteri- 
ous horrors  to  their  fate.  When,  therefore,  they  beheld  one  of  the 
adventurous  vessels  furling  her  sails  in  their  harbor,  from  the  dis- 
covery of  a  world,  the  whole  community  broke  forth  into  a  trans- 
port of  joy,  the  bells  were  rung,  the  shops  shut,  and  all  business 
suspended.  Columbus  lauded,  and  walked  in  procession  to  the 
church  of  St.  George,  to  return  thanks  to  God  for  his  safe  arrival. 
Wherever  he  passed,  the  air  rang  with  acclamations,  and  he  received 
such  honors  as  are  paid  to  sovereigns.  What  a  contrast  was  this 
to  his  departure  a  few  months  before,  followed  by  murmurs  and 
execrations !  or  rather,  what  a  contrast  to  his  first  arrival  at  Palos, 
a  poor  pedestrian,  craving  bread  and  water  for  his  child  at  the  gate 
of  a  convent ! 

Understanding  that  the  court  was  at  Barcelona,  he  at  first  felt 
disposed  to  proceed  there  in  the  caravel;  but,  reflecting  on 
the  dangers  and  disasters  of  his  recent  voyage,  he  gave 
up   the    idea,    and   despatched  a  letter  to   the  sovereigns, 
informing  them  of  his  arrival.     He  then  de- 
parted for  Seville,  to  await  their   reply.     It 
arrived  within  a  few  days,  and  was  as  grati- 
fying as  his  heart  could  have  desired.     The 
sovereigns  were  dazzled   and  astonished  by 
this  sudden  and  easy   acquisition   of  a  new 
empire  of  indefinite  extent,  and  apparently 
boundless  wealth.     They  addressed  Colum- 
bus by   his    titles    of    admiral   and   viceroy, 
promising  him  still  greater  rewards,  and  urging  him  to  repair  im- 
mediately to  court  to  concert  plans  for  a  second  and  more  extensive 
expedition. 

It  is  fitting  here  to  speak  a  word  of  the  fate  of  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon.  By  a  singular  coincidence,  which  appears  to  be  well  au- 
thenticated, he  anchored  at  Palos  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
that  Columbus  had  arrived.  He  had  been  driven  by  the  storm  into 
the  bay  of  Biscay,  and  had  made  the  port  of  Bayonne.  Doubting 
whether  Columbus  had  survived  the  tempest,  he  had  immediately 
written  to  the  sovereigns,  giving  an  account  of  the  discovery,  and 
requesting  permission  to  come  to  court  and  relate  the  particulars 
in  person.  As  soon  as  the  weather  was  favorable,  he  again  set  sail, 
anticipating  a  triumphant    reception   in  his  native  port  of  Palos. 


THE    CHURCH    OF    ST.    GEORGE    I* 
FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH. 


ISO  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

When,  on  entering  the  harbor,  he  beheld  the  vessel  of  the  admiral 
riding  at  anchor,  and  learned  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  had 
been  received,  his  heart  died  within  him.  It  is  said  he  feared  to 
meet  Columbus  in  this  hour  of  his  triumph,  lest  he  should  put  him 
under  arrest  for  his  desertion  on  the  coast  of  Cuba ;  but  this  is  not 
likely,  for  he  was  a  man  of  too  much  resolution  to  yield  to  such  a 
fear.  It  is  more  probable  that  a  consciousness  of  his  misconduct 
made  him  unwilling  to  appear  before  the  public  in  the  midst  of 
their  enthusiasm  for  Columbus,  and  to  witness  the  honors  heaped 
upon  a  man  whose  superiority  he  had  been  so  unwilling  to  acknowl- 
edge. Whatever  ma}^  have  been  his  motive,  it  is  said  that  he  landed 
privately  in  his  boat,  and  kept  out  of  sight  until  the  departure  of 
the  admiral,  when  he  returned  to  his  home,  broken  in  health,  and 
deeply  dejected,  awaiting  the  reply  of  the  sovereigns  to  his  letter. 
The  reply  at  length  arrived,  forbidding  his  coming  to  court,  aud 
severely  reproaching  him  for  his  conduct.  This. letter  completed 
his  humiliation ;  the  wounds  of  his  feelings  gave  virulence  to  his 
bodily  malady,  and  in  a  few  days  he  died,  a  victim  to  grief  and  re- 
pentance. 

Let  no  one,  however,  indulge  in  harsh  censures  over  the  grave 
of  Pinzon.  His  merits  and  services  are  entitled  to  the  highest 
praise;  his  errors  should  be  regarded  with  indulgence.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  in  Spain  to  appreciate  the  project  of  Columbus, 
animating  him  by  his  concurrence,  and  aiding  him  with  his  purse 
when  poor  and  unknown  at  Palos.  He  afterwards  enabled  him  to 
procure  and  fit  out  his  ships,  when  even  the  mandates  of  the  sov- 
ereigns were  ineffectual ;  and  finally  he  embarked  in  the  expedition 
with  his  brothers  and  his  friends,  staking  life,  propert}-,  even-  thing, 
upon  the  event.  He  had  thus  entitled  himself  to  participate  largely 
in  the  glory  of  this  immortal  enterprise,  when,  unfortunately,  for- 
getting for  a  moment  the  grandeur  of  the  cause,  and  the  implicit 
obedience  due  to  his  commander,  he  yielded  to  the  incitements  of 
self-interest,  and  was  guilty  of  that  act  of  insubordination  which 
has  cast  a  shade  upon  his  name.  Much  may  be  said,  however,  in 
extenuation  of  his  fault;  his  consciousness  of  having  rendered 
great  services  to  the  expedition,  and  of  possessing  property  in  the 
ships,  and  his  habits  of  command,  which  rendered  him  impatient 
of  control.  That  he  was  a  man  naturally  of  generous  sentiments 
and  honorable  ambition   is  evident  from  the  poignancy  with  which 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


181 


he  felt  the  disgrace  drawn  upon  him  by  his  conduct.     A  mean  man 
would  not  have  fallen  a  victim  to  self-upbraiding  for  having  been 


convicted  of  a  mean  ac- 
lapse    from    duty  may 
thousand    services ;  how 
the    beauty    of    a    whole 
it  is  for  a  man,  under  all 
merely    to    others,  but  to 


tion.     His  story    shows    how   one 

counterbalance     the    merits    of    a 

one  moment  of  weakness  may  mar 

life  of  virtue;    and  how    important 

circumstances  to  be   true,  not 

himself. 


MONUMENT   OF    ISABELLA    THE    CATHOLIC    AT    MADRID,    6PAIN. 


RECEPTION   OF   COLUMBUS   BY  THE  SPANISH   SOVEREIGNS   AT 
BARCELONA.     (1493.) 


HE  journey  of  Columbus  to  Barcelona, 
was  like  the  progress  of  a  sovereign. 
Wherever  he  passed,  the  surrounding 
country  poured  forth  its  inhabitants,  who 
lined  the  road,  and  thronged  the  villages, 
rending  the  air  with  acclamations.  In 
the  large  towns,  the  streets,  windows,  and 
balconies  were  filled  with  spectators,  eager 
to  gain  a  sight  of  him,  and  of  the  Indians 
whom  he  carried  with  him,  who  were  re- 
garded with  as  much  astonishment  as  if 
the}-  had  been  natives  of  another  planet. 
It  was  about  the  middle  of  April,  that 
he  arrived  at  Barcelona,  and  the  beauty 
and  serenity  of  the  weather,  in  that 
genial  season  and  favored  climate,  con- 
tributed to  give  splendor  to  the  memorable 
ceremony  of  his  reception.  As  he  drew  near  the  place,  many  of  the 
youthful  courtiers  and  cavaliers,  followed  by  a  vast  concourse  of  the 


COAT  OF  ARMS  GRANTED  TO  COLUMBUS  BY  THE 
SPANISH  SOVEREIGNS. 
UPPER  FIELD,  THE  LION  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF 
LEON,  AND  THE  CASTLE  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF 
CASTILE;  LOWER  FIELD,  ANCHORS,  AND  THE 
NEWLY  DISCOVERED  ISLANDS;  IN  THE  MIDDLE 
OP  THE  SHIELD  AT  THE  BOTTOM  THE  CONTI- 
NENT OF  ASIA,  WHICH  HE  IS  SUPPOSED  TO  HAVE 
DISCOVERED. 


(182) 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


185 


populace,  came  forth  to  meet  him.  His  entrance  into  this  noble 
city  has  been  compared  to  one  of  those  triumphs  which  the  Romans 
were  accustomed  to  decree  to  conquerors.  First  were  paraded  the 
six  Indians,  painted  according  to  their  savage  fashion,  and  decorat- 
ed with  their  ornaments  of  gold.  After  these  were  borne  various 
kinds  of  live  parrots,  together  with  stuffed 
birds  and  animals  of  unknown  species,  and 
rare  plants  supposed  to  be  of  precious 
qualities  ;  while  especial  care  was  taken  to 
display  the  Indian  coronets,  bracelets,  and 
other  decorations  of  gold,  which 
might  give  an  idea  of  the  wealth  of 
the  newly-discovered  regions.  After 
this  followed  Columbus,  on  horse- 
back, surrounded  by  a  brilliant  cav- 
alcade of  Spanish  chivalry.  The 
streets  were  almost  impassable 
from  the  multitude;  the 
houses,  even  to  the  very  roofs, 
were  crowded  with  spectators 
seemed  as  if  the  public  eye  could 
not  be  sated  with  gazing  at  these  trophies 
of  an  unknown  world;  or  on  the  remark- 
able man  by  whom  it  had  been  discovered, 
was  a  sublimity  in  this  event  that  mingled 
solemn  feeling  with  the  public  joy.  It  was  con- 
sidered a  signal  dispensation  of  Providence  in 
reward  for  the  piety  of  the  sovereigns ;  and  the 
majestic  and  venerable  appearance  of  the  dis- 
coverer, so  different  from  the  youth  and  buoy- 
ancy that  generally  accompany  roving  enter- 
prise, seemed  in  harmony  with  the  grandeur  and 
dignit}-  of  the  achievement. 

To  receive  him  with  suitable  distinction,  the  sovereigns  had 
ordered  their  throne  to  be  placed  in  public,  under  a  rich  canopy  of 
brocade  of  gold,  where  they  awaited  his  arrival,  seated  in  state, 
with  Prince  Juan  beside  them,  and  surrounded  by  their  principal 
nobility.  Columbus  arrived  in  their  presence,  accompanied  by  a 
brilliant  crowd  of  cavaliers,  among  whom,  we  are  told,  he  was  con- 


INTERIOR   OF   THE   CATHEDRAL   OF    BARCELONA. 
FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH. 


1 86 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


spicuous  for  his  stately  and  commanding  person,  which,  with  his 
venerable  gray  hairs,  gave  him  the  august  appearance  of  a  senator 
of  Rome.  A  modest  smile  lighted  up  his  countenance,  showing 
that  he  enjoyed  the  state  and  glory  in  which  he  came ;  and  certainly 
nothing  could  be  more  deeply  moving  to  a  mind  inflamed  by 
noble  ambition,  and  conscious  of  having  nobly  deserved,  than  these 
testimonials  of  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  a  nation,  or  rather 
of  a  world.  On  his  approach,  the  sovereigns  rose,  as  if  receiving 
a  person  of  the  highest  rank.  Bending  on  his  knees,  he  would 
have  kissed  their  hands  in  token  of  vassalage,  but  they  raised  him 
in  the  most  gracious  manner,  and  ordered  him  to  seat  himself  in 
their  presence ;   a  rare  honor  in  this  proud  and  punctilious  court. 

He  now  gave  an  account  of  the  most  striking  events  of  his 
voyage,  and  displayed  the  various  productions  and  the  native  in- 
habitants which  he  had  brought  from  the  new  world.  He  assured 
their  majesties  that  all  these  were  but  harbingers  of  greater  dis- 
coveries which  he  had  yet  to  make,  which  would  add  realms  of 
incalculable  wealth  to  their  dominions,  and  whole  nations  of  pros- 
elytes to  the  true  faith. 

When  Columbus  had  finished,  the  king  and  queen  sank  on 
their  knees,  raised  their  hands  to  heaven,  and,  with  eyes  filled  with 
tears  of  joy  and  gratitude,  poured  forth  thanks  and  praises  to  God. 
All  present  followed  their  example ;  a  deep  and  solemn  enthusiasm 
pervaded  that  splendid  assembly,  and  prevented  all  common  accla- 
mations of  triumph.  The  anthem  of  Te  Dcitm  laudamus,  chanted 
by  the  choir  of  the  royal  chapel,  with  the  melodious  accompani- 
ments of  instruments,  rose  up  from  the  midst  in  a  full  body  of 
harnion}',  bearing  up,  as  it  were,  the  feelings  and  thoughts  of  the 
auditors  to  heaven.  Such  was  the  solemn  and  pious  manner  in 
which  the  brilliant  court  of  Spain  celebrated  this  sublime  event ; 
offering  up  a  grateful  tribute  of  melody  and  praise,  and  giving 
glory  to  God  for  the  discovery  of  another  world. 

While  the  mind  of  Columbus  was  excited  by  this  triumph,  and 
teeming  with  splendid  anticipations,  his  pious  scheme  for  the  de- 
liverance of  the  holy  sepulchre  was  not  forgotten.  Flushed  with 
the  idea  of  the  vast  wealth  that  must  accrue  to  himself  from  his 
discoveries,  he  made  a  vow  to  furnish,  within  seven  years,  an  army 
of  four  thousand  horse  and  fifty  thousand  foot,  for  a  crusade  to  the 
Holy  Land,  and  a  similar  force  within  the  five  following  j^ears.     It 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


I87 


is  essential  to  a  full  knowledge  of  the  character  and  motives  of  this 
extraordinary  man,  that  this  visionary  project  should  be  borne  in 
recollection.  It  shows  how  much  his  mind  was  elevated  above  self- 
ish and  mercenary  views,  and  filled  with  those  devout  and  heroic 
schemes  which,  in  the  time  of  the  crusades,  had  inflamed  the 
thoughts  and  directed  the  enterprises  of  the  bravest  warriors  and 
most  illustrious  princes. 

During  his   sojourn  at   Barcelona,  the  sovereigns  took  every 
occasion  to  bestow  on  Columbus  the  highest  marks  of  personal 
consideration.      He   was  admitted  at  all  times  to  the  royal 
presence  ;  appeared  occasionally  with  the  king  on  horseback, 
riding  on  one   side  of  him,  while  Prince  Juan  rode  on  the 
other  side ;  and   the  queen  delighted   to  converse   famil- 
iarly with  him  on  the  subject  of  his  voyage.     To  per- 
petuate in  his  family  the  glory  of  his  achievement,  a 
coat  of  arms  was  given  him,  in  which  he  was  allowed 
to  quarter  the  royal  arms,  the  castle  and  lion,  with 
those  more  peculiarly  assigned  him,  which  were  a 
group    of  islands  surrounded  by  waves;  to  these 
arms  was  afterwards  annexed  the  motto : 

A    CASTILLA   Y    A    LEON 
NUEVO    MUNDO    DIO    COLON. 

(To  Castile  and  Leon 
Columbus  gave  a  new  world.) 

The  pension  of  thirty  crowns,  which  had  been 
decreed  by  the  sovereigns  to  whomsoever  should 
first  discover  land,  was  adjudged  to  Columbus,  for 
having  first  seen  the  light  on  the  shore.  It  is  said 
that  the  seaman  who  first  descried  the  land  was  so 
incensed  at  being  disappointed  at  what  he  deemed  his  merited  re- 
ward, that  he  renounced  his  country  and  his  faith,  and,  crossing 
into  Africa,  turned  Mussulman  ;  an  anecdote,  however,  which  rests 
on  rather  questionable  authority. 

The  favor  shown  Columbus  by  the  sovereigns  ensured  him  for 
a  time  the  caresses  of  the  nobility ;  for,  in  a  court  every  one  is 
eager  to  lavish  attentions  upon  the  man  "whom  the  king  delight- 
eth  to  honor."  At  one  of  the  banquets  which  were  given  him  oc- 
curred the  well  known  circumstance  of  the  Qgg.    A  shallow  courtier 


ARMOR   OF   COLUMBUS. 
PRESERVED    IN    THE    ROYAL   ARSENA 


i8S 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


present,  impatient  of  the  honors  ,paid  to  Columbus,  and  meanly  jeal- 
ous of  him  as  a  foreigner,  abruptly  asked  him,  whether  he  thought 
that,  in  case  he  had  not  discovered  the  Indies,  there  would  have 
been  wanting  men  in  Spain  capable  of  the  enterprise.  To  this 
Columbus   made   no  direct   replv,  but,   taking  an   egg,  invited  the 


CLalma'adcIIifoIecTichatrouatonuouamentcilRcdifpagna. 


company  to  make  it  stand 
upon  one  end.  Every  one 
attempted  it,  but  in  vain  ; 
whereupon  he  struck  it 
upon  the  table,  broke  one 
end,  and  left  it  standing  on 
the  broken  part ;  illustrat- 
ing, in  this  simple  manner, 
that  when  he  had  once 
shown  the  way  to  the  new 
world,  nothing  was  easier 
than  to  follow  it. 

The  joy  occasioned  by 
this  great  discovery  was 
not  confined  to  Spain ;  the 
whole  civilized  world  was 
filled  with  wonder  and  de- 
light. Every  one  rejoiced 
in  it  as  an  event  in  which 
he  was  more  or  less  inter- 
ested, and  which  opened  a 
new  and  unbounded  field 
for  inquiry  and  enterprise. 
Men  of  learning  and  science 
shed  tears  of  joy,  and 
those  of  ardent  imaginations  indulged  in  the  most  extravagant  and 
delightful  dreams.  Notwithstanding  all  this  triumph,  however,  no 
one  had  an  idea  of  the  real  importance  of  the  discovery.  The  opin- 
ion of  Columbus  was  universally  adopted,  that  Cuba  was  the  end 
of  the  Asiatic  continent,  and  that  the  adjacent  islands  were  in  the 
Indian  Seas.  They  were  called,  therefore,  the  West  Indies,  and  as 
the  region  thus  discovered  appeared  to  be  of  vast  and  indefinite 
extent,  and  existing  in  a  state  of  nature,  it  received  the  compre- 
hensive appellation  of  "the  New  World." 


FAC-SIMILE  OF  WOOD-ENGRAVED  TITLE  OF  AN   ITALIAN  PAMPHLET,   PRINTED  IN   FLORENCE,   1493, 

REPRESENTING  THE  LANDING  OF  COLUMBUS. 

ORIGINAL  IN  THE   BRITISH  MUSEUM. 


fi89) 


\ 


\ 


CftA£TER  XVI. 


PAPAL   BULL  OF    PARTITION.      PREPARATIONS   FOR   a'BSCOND  VOYAGE   OF    DISCOVERY.     (1493.) 


N  the  midst  of  their  re- 
joicings,  the    Spanish 
sovereigns  lost  no  time  in 
taking  every  measure  to  secure 
their  new  acquisitions. 
During    the    Crusades,    a 
doctrine  had  been  estab- 
lished among  the  Chris- 
tian princes,  according  to 
which,  the  Pope,  from  his 
supreme  authority  over  all 
temporal    things,  as   Christ's 
vicar  on  earth,  was  considered  as  empowered 
to    dispose    of    all    heathen    lands    to    such 
Christian  potentates  as  would  undertake  to 
reduce  them  to  the  dominion 

COPPER  COIN  OF  POPE  ALEXANDER  VI.      REDUCED  ONE-HALF.     OBVERSE,   BUST  OF  of     tllC        ChUTCh,       and       tO        lntrO" 

THE  POPE  IN  THE  PLUVIAL  PONT  MAX  T    REVERSE,   REPRESENTATION  OF  dUCC         mtO         tllCm         tllC      llffht     Of 

HIS  CORONATION  ;  INSCRIPTION,  CORONAT  ITO.),  BERLIN  g  ° 

religion. 


(■9-) 


192 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


Alexander  the  Sixth,  a  native  of  Valencia,  and  born  a  subject 
to  the  crown  of  Arragon,  had  recently  been  elevated  to  the  Papal 
chair.  He  was  a  pontiff  whom  some  historians  have  stigmatized 
with  every  vice  and  crime  that  could  disgrace  humanity,  but  whom 
all  have  represented  as  eminently  able  and  politic.  Ferdinand  was 
well  aware  of  his  worldly  and  perfidious  character,  and  endeavored 
to  manage  him  accordingly.  He  dispatched  ambassadors  to  him, 
announcing  the  new  discovery  as  an  extraordinary  triumph  of  the 
faith,  and  a  vast  acquisition  of  empire  to  the  Church.  He  took 
care  to  state,  that  it  did  not  in  the  least  interfere  with  the 
possessions  ceded  by  the  holy  chair  to  Portugal,  all 
which  had  been  sedulously  avoided  ;  he  supplicated 
his  Holiness,  therefore,  to  issue  a  bull,  granting  to 
Igg'  the  crown  of  Castile  dominion  over  all  those  lands, 
and  such  others  as  might  be  discovered  in  those 
parts,  artfully  intimating,  at  the  same  time,  his 
determination  to  maintain  possession  of  them, 
however  his  Holiness  miedit  decide.  No  dim- 
culty  was  made  in  granting  what  was  con- 
sidered but  a  reasonable  and  modest  request, 
though  it  is  probable  that  the  acquiescence  of 
the  worldly-minded  pontiff  was  quickened  by 
the  insinuation  of  the  politic  monarch. 

A  bull  was  accordingly  issued,  dated  May  2d, 
1493,  investing  the  Spanish  sovereigns  with  similar 
ights,  privileges,  and  indulgences,  in  respect  to  the 
newly-discovered  regions,  to  those  granted  to  the  Por- 
lguese  with  respect  to  their  African  discoveries,  and 
under  the  same  condition  of  propagating  the  Catholic  faith. 
To  prevent  any  conflicting  claims,  however,  between  the  two  powers, 
the  famous  line  of  demarcation  was  established.  This  was  an  ideal 
line  drawn  from  the  north  to  the  south  pole,  a  hundred  leagues  west 
of  the  Azores  and  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands.  All  land  discovered 
by  the  Spanish  navigators  to  the  west  of  this  line,  was  to  belong 
to  the  crown  of  Castile ;  all  land  discovered  in  the  contrary  direc- 
tion was  to  belong  to  Portugal.  It  seems  never  to  have  occurred 
to  the  pontiff,  that,  by  pushing  their  opposite  discoveries,  they 
might  some  day  or  other  come  again  in  collision,  and  renew  the 
question  of  territorial  right  at  the  antipodes. 


OF    COLUMBUS.  193 

In  the  mean  time,  the  utmost  exertions  were  made  to  fit  out 
the  second  expedition  of  Columbus.  To  insure  regularity  and  des- 
patch in  the  affairs  relative  to  the  new  world,  they  were  placed 
under  the  superintendence  of  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  arch- 
deacon of  Seville,  who  successively  was  promoted  to  the  sees  of 
Badajoz,  Palencia,  and  Burgos,  and  finally  appointed  patriarch  of 
the  Indies.  Francisco  Pinelo  was  associated  with  him  as  treasurer, 
and  Juan  de  Soria  as  contador,  or  comptroller.  Their  office  was 
fixed  at  Seville,  and  was  the  germ  of  the  Royal  India  house,  which 
afterwards  rose  to  such  great  power  and  importance.  No  one  was 
permitted  to  embark  for  the  newly-discovered  lands,  without  ex- 
press license  from  either  the  sovereigns,  Columbus,  or  Fonseca. 
The  ignorance  of  the  age  as  to  enlarged  principles  of  commerce, 
and  the  example  of  the  Portuguese  in  respect  to  their  African  pos- 
sessions, have  been  cited  in  excuse  for  the  narrow  and  jealous  spirit 
here  manifested ;  but  it  always,  more  or  less,  influenced  the  policy 
of  Spain  in  her  colonial  regulations. 

Another  instance  of  the  despotic  sway  exercised  by  the  crown 
over  commerce,  is  manifested  in  a  royal  order,  empowering  Colum- 
bus and  Fonseca  to  freight  or  purchase  any  vessels  in  the  ports 
of  Andalusia,  or  to  take  them  by  force,  if  refused,  even  though 
freighted  by  other  persons,  paying  what  they  should  conceive  a 
reasonable  compensation,  and  compelling  their  captains  and  crews 
to  serve  in  the  expedition.  Equally  arbitrary  powers  were  given 
with  respect  to  arms,  ammunition,  and  naval  stores. 

As  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  was  professed  to  be  the  grand 
object  of  these  discoveries,  twelve  ecclesiastics  were  chosen  to  ac- 
company the  expedition,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Bernardo  Buyl, 
or  Boyle,  a  Benedictine  monk,  a  native  of  Catalonia,  a  man  of  tal- 
ent and  reputed  sanctity,  but  a  subtle  politician,  of  intriguing 
spirit.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Pope  his  apostolical  vicar  for  the 
new  world.  These  monks  were  charged  by  Isabella  with  the  spirit- 
ual instruction  of  the  Indians,  and  provided,  by  her,  with  all  things 
necessary  for  the  dignified  performance  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
of  the  Church.  The  queen  had  taken  a  warm  and  compassionate 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  natives,  looking  upon  them  as  com- 
mitted by  Heaven  to  her  peculiar  care.  She  gave  general  orders 
that  they  should  be  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  enjoined 
Columbus  to  inflict  signal  punishment  on  all  Spaniards  who  should 


194  THF<    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

wrong  them.  The  six  Indians  brought  by  the  admiral  to  Barce- 
lona, were  baptized  with  great  state  and  solemnity,  the  king,  the 
queen,  and  Prince  Juan  officiating  as  sponsors,  and  were  considered 
as  an  offering  to  Heaven  of  the  first  fruits  of  these  pagan  nations. 

The  preparations  for  the  expedition  were  quickened  by  the 
proceedings  of  the  court  of  Portugal.  John  the  Second,  unfortu- 
nately for  himself,  had  among  his  counsellors  certain  politicians  of 
that  short-sighted  class  who  mistake  craft  for  wisdom.  By  adopt- 
ing their  perfidious  policy,  he  had  lost  the  new  world  when  it  was 
an  object  of  honorable  enterprise  ;  in  compliance  with  their  advice, 
he  now  sought  to  retrieve  it  by  subtle  stratagem.  A  large  arma- 
ment was  fitting  out,  the  avowed  object  of  which  was  an  expedition 
to  Africa,  but  its  real  destination  to  seize  upon  the  newly-discovered 
countries.  To  lull  suspicion,  he  sent  ambassadors  to  the  Spanish 
court,  to  congratulate  the  sovereigns  on  the  success  of  Columbus, 
and  to  amuse  them  with  negotiations  respecting  their  discoveries. 
Ferdinand  had  received  early  intelligence  of  the  naval  preparations 
of  Portugal,  and  perfectly  understood  the  real  purpose  of  this  mis- 
sion. A  keen  diplomatic  game  ensued  between  the  sovereigns, 
wherein  the  parties  were  playing  for  a  newly-discovered  world. 
Questions  and  propositions  were  multiplied  and  entangled ;  tlie 
object  of  each  being  merely  to  gain  time  to  dispatch  his  expedition. 
Ferdinand  was  successful,  and  completely  foiled  his  adversary  ;  for 
though  John  the  Second  was  able  and  intelligent,  and  had  crafty 
counsellors  to  advise  him,  yet,  whenever  deep  and  subtle  policy  was 
required,  Ferdinand  was  master  of  the  game. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  mention,  in  this  place,  that  the  disputes 
between  the  two  powers,  on  the  subject  of  their  discoveries,  was 
finally  settled  on  June  4th,  1494,  by  removing  the  imaginary  line 
of  partition,  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape 
de  Verde  Islands ;  an  arrangement  which  ultimately  gave  to  Portu- 
gal the  possession  of  the  Brazils. 

By  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  Columbus,  aided  by  Fonseca 
and  Soria,  a  fleet  of  seventeen  sail,  large  and  small,  were  soon  in  a 
state  of  forwardness;  laborers  and  artificers  of  all  kinds  were  en- 
gaged for  the  projected  colony;  and  an  ample  supply  was  provided 
of  whatever  was  necessary  for  its  subsistence  and  defence,  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  the  working  of  the  mines,  and  the  traffic 
witb  tlie  natives. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  195 

The  extraordinary  excitement  which  prevailed  respecting  this 
expedition,  and  the  magnificent  ideas  which  were  entertained  con- 
cerning the  new  world,  drew  volunteers  of  all  kinds  to  Seville.  It 
was  a  romantic  and  stirring  age,  and  the  Moorish  wars  being  over, 
the  bold  and  restless  spirits  of  the  nation  were  in  want  of  suitable 
employment.  Man}-  Hidalgos  *  of  high  rank,  officers  of  the  royal 
household,  and  Audalusian  cavaliers,  pressed  into  the  expedition, 
and  some  into  the  royal  service,  others  at  their  own  cost,  fancying 
they  were  about  to  enter  upon  a  glorious  career  of  arms,  in  the 
splendid  countries,  and  among  the  semi-barbarous  nations  of  the 
East.  No  one  had  any  definite  idea  of  the  object  or  nature  of  the 
service  in  which  he  was  embarked,  or  the  situation  and  character  of 
the  region  to  which  he  was  bound.  Indeed,  during  this  fever  of 
the  imagination,  had  sober  facts  and  cold  realities  been  presented, 
they  would  have  been  rejected  with  disdain,  for  there  is  nothing  of 
which  the  public  is  more  impatient,  than  of  being  disturbed  in  the 
indulgence  of  any  of  its  golden  dreams. 

Among  the  noted  personages  who  engaged  in  the  expedition, 
was  a  young  cavalier  of  a  good  family,  named  Don  Alonzo  de  Ojeda, 
who  deserves  particular  mention.  He  was  small,  but  well  propor- 
tioned and  muscular,  of  a  dark,  but  handsome  and  animated  coun- 
tenance, and  possessed  of  incredible  strength  and  agility.  He  was 
expert  at  all  kinds  of  weapons,  accomplished  in  all  manly  and  war- 
like exercises,  an  admirable  horseman,  and  a  partisan  soldier  of  the 
highest  order.  Bold  of  heart,  free  of  spirit,  open  of  hand ;  fierce  in 
fight,  quick  in  brawl,  but  ready  to  forgive  and  prone  to  forget  an 
injury  ;  he  was  for  a  long  time  the  idol  of  the  rash  and  roving  youth 
who  engaged  in  the  early  expeditions  to  the  new  world,  and  distin- 
guished himself  by  many  perilous  enterprises  and  singular  ex- 
ploits. The  very  first  notice  we  have  of  him,  is  a  harebrained  feat 
which  he  performed  in  presence  of  Queen  Isabella,  in  the  Giralda 
or  Moorish  tower  of  the  Cathedral  of  Seville.  A  great  beam  pro- 
jected about  twenty  feet  from  the  tower,  at  an  immense  height  from 
the  ground ;  along  this  beam  Ojeda  walked  briskly  with  as  much 
confidence  as  if  pacing  his  chamber.  When  arrived  at  the  end,  he 
stood  on  one  leg,  with  the  other  elevated  in  the  air,  then  turning 
nimbly,  walked  back  to  the  tower ;  placed  one  foot  against  it,  and 
threw  an  orange  to  the  summit ;  which  could  only  have  been  done 

*  Hidalgo,  or  Fidalgo,  noblemen  in  Spain  or  Portugal. 
I  I 


196 


THE   LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


by  one  possessed  of  immense  muscular  strength. 
Throughout  all  this  exploit,  the  least  giddiness, 
or  false  step,  would  have  precipitated  him  to  the 
earth  and  dashed  him  to  pieces. 

During  the  fitting  out  of  the  armament,  vari- 
ous disputes  occurred  between  Columbus  and  the 
persons  appointed  by  the  crown  to  assist  him. 
Juau  de  Soria,  the  comptroller,  demurred  occa- 
sionally to  the  expenses,  which  exceeded  the 
amount  originally  calculated,  and  he  sometimes 
refused  to  sign  the  accounts  of  the  admiral.  The 
archdeacon  Fonseca,  also,  disputed  the  requisi- 
tions of  Columbus  for  footmen  and  domestics, 
suitable  to  his  state  as  viceroy.  They  both  re- 
ceived reprimands  from  the  sovereigns,  and  were 
commanded  to  stud}',  in  every  thing,  the  wishes 
of  Columbus.  From  this  trifling  cause  we  may 
date  the  rise  of  an  implacable  hostility,  ever  after 
manifested  by  Fonseca  towards  Columbus,  which 
every  year  increased  in  rancor,  and  which  his 
official  station  enabled  him  to  gratify  in  the  most 

invidious  manner.  Enjoy- 
ing the  unmerited  favor  of 
the  sovereigns,  he  main- 
tained a  control  of  Indian 
affairs  for  about  thirty 
years.  He  must  undoubt- 
edly have  possessed  talents 
for  business,  to  ensure  such 
perpetuity  of  office  ;  but  he 
was  malignant  and  vindic- 
tive, and,  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  private  resent- 
ments, often  obstructed  the 
national  enterprises,  and 
heaped  wrongs  and  sorrows 
on  the  heads  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  the  early  dis- 
coverers. 


DON  ALONZO  OE  OJEDA.   EXHIBITS  HIS  SKILL  AND  PROWESS,   ON  THE  GIRALDA  OF  SEVILLE. 
(THE  GIRALOA  IS  A  BELL  TOWER  OF  EXQUISITE   MOORISH   ARCHITECTURE-  ' 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


DEPARTURE   OF  COLUMBUS   ON    HIS   SECOND   VOYAGE   OF    DISCOVERY.     ARRIVAL  AT 

HISPANIOLA.     H493   I 


HE  departure  of  Columbus  on  his  second  voy- 
age of  discovery  presented  a  brilliant  contrast 
to  his  gloomy  embarkation  at  Palos.  On  the 
25th  of  September,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  the  bay 
of  Cadiz  was  whitened  by  his  fleet.  There  were 
three  large  ships  of  heavy  burden,  and  fourteen 
caravels.  The  number  of  persons  permitted  to 
embark  had  originally  been  limited  to  one  thou- 
sand ;  but  many  volunteers  were  allowed  to 
enlist  without  pay,  others  got  on  board  of  the 
ships  by  stealth,  so  that  eventually  about  fifteen 
hundred  set  sail  in  the  fleet.  All  were  full  of  animation,  and  took  a 
gay  leave  of  their  friends,  anticipating  a  prosperous  voyage  and 
triumphant  return.  Instead  of  being  regarded  by  the  populace  as 
devoted  men,  bound  upon  a  dark  and  desperate  enterprise,  they 
were  contemplated  with  envy  as  favored  mortals,  destined  to  golden 
regions  and  delightful  climes,  where  nothing  but  wealth,  and  won- 
der, and  enjoyment  awaited  them.  Columbus  moved  among  the 
throng,  accompanied  by  his  sons,  Diego  and  Fernando,  the  eldest 
but  a  stripling,  who  had  come  to  witness  his  departure.  Wher- 
ever he  passed,  every  eye  followed  him  with  admiration,  and  every 
tongue  extolled  and  blessed  him.     Eefore  sunrise  the  whole  fleet 


{197) 


.19S  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

was  under  weigh  ;  the  weather  was  serene  and  propitious,  and  as  the 
populace  watched  their  parting,  sails  brightening  in  the  morning 
beams,  they  looked  forward  to  their  joyful  return,  laden  with  the 
treasures  of  the  new  world. 

Columbus  touched  at  the  Canary  Islands,  where  he  took  in 
wood  and  water,  and  procured  live  stock,  plants,  and  seeds,  to  be 
propagated  in  Hispaniola.  On  the  13th  of  October,  he  lost  sight 
of  the  island  of  Ferro,  and,  favored  by  the  trade  winds,  was  borne 
pleasantly  along,  shaping  his  course  to  the  south-west,  hoping  to 
fall  in  with  the  islands  of  the  Caribs,  of  which  he  had  received  such 
interesting  accounts  in  his  first  voyage.  At  the  dawn  of  day  of  the 
2d  of  November,  a  lofty  island  was  descried  to  the  west,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Dominica,  from  having  discovered  it  on  Sun- 
dav.  As  the  ships  moved  gently  onward,  other  islands  rose  to  sight, 
one  after  another,  covered  with  forests,  and  enlivened  by  flights  of 
parrots  and  other  tropical  birds,  while  the  whole  air  was  sweetened 
by  the  fragrance  of  the  breezes  which  passed  over  them.  These 
were  a  part  of  that  beautiful  cluster  of  islands  called  the  Antilles, 
which  sweep  almost  in  a  semicircle  from  the  eastern  end  of  Porto 
Rico,  to  the  coast  of  Paria  on  the  southern  continent,  forming  a 
kind  of  barrier  between  the  main  ocean  and  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

In  one  of  those  islands,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Gua- 
daloupe,  the  Spaniards  first  met  with  the  delicious  anana,  or  pine- 
apple. They  found  also,  to  their  surprise,  the  sternpost  of  a 
European  vessel,  which  caused  much  speculation,  but  which,  most 
probably,  was  the  fragment  of  some  wreck,  borne  across  the  Atlan- 
tic by  the  constant  current  which  accompanies  the  trade  winds. 
What  most  struck  their  attention,  however,  and  filled  them  with 
horror,  was  the  sight  of  human  limbs  hanging  in  the  houses,  as  if 
curing  for  provisions,  and  others  broiling  or  roasting  at  the  fire. 
Columbus  now  concluded  that  he  had  arrived  at  the  islands  of  the 
cannibals,  or  Caribs,  the  objects  of  his  search;  and  he  was  confirmed 
in  this  belief  by  several  captives  taken  by  his  men.  These  Caribs 
were  the  most  ferocious  people  of  these  seas ;  making  roving  expe- 
ditions in  their  canoes,  to  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
leagues,  invading  the  islands,  ravaging  the  villages,  making  slaves 
of  the  youngest  and  handsomest  females,  and  carrying  off  the  men 
to  be  killed  and  eaten. 

While  at  this   island,  a  party  of  eight  men,  headed  by  Diego 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


[99 


Marque,  captain  of  one  of  the  caravels,  strayed  into  the  woods,  and 
did  not  return  at  night  to  the  ships.  The  admiral  was  extremely 
uneasy  at  their  absence,  fearing  some  evil  from  the  ferocious  dispo- 
sition of  the  islanders ;  on  the  following  day,  parties  were  sent  in 
quest  of  them,  each  with  a  trumpeter,  to  sound  calls  and  signals, 
and  guns  were  fired  from  the  ships,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The 
parties  returned  in  the  evening,  wearied  by  a  fruitless  search,  with 
many  dismal  stories  of  the  traces  of  cannibalism  they  had  met 
with. 

Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  the  daring  young  cavalier  who  has  already 
been  m  e  n - 
tioned,  then 
set  off  with 
forty  men, 
into  the  in- 
terior of  the 
island,  beat- 
ing up  the 
forests,  and 
making  the 
mountains 
and  valleys 
resound  with 
trumpets  and 
firearms,  but 
with  no  bet- 
ter success. 
Their  search 
was  rendered 

PV^OCciudl      '  CARI8S  TORTURINC   A  PRISONER,  WHOSE  FLESH  THEY  OEVOUR  WHILE  HE  IS  STILL  ALIVE. 

toilsome  by  the  closeness  and  luxuriance  of  the  forests,  and  by  the 
windings  and  doublings  of  the  streams,  which  were  so  frequent,  that 
Ojeda  declared  he  had  waded  through  twenty-six  rivers  within  the 
distance  of  six  leagues.  He  gave  the  most  enthusiastic  accounts  of 
the  country.  The  forests,  he  said,  were  filled  with  aromatic  trees 
and  shrubs,  which  he  had  no  doubt  would  be  found  to  produce 
precious  gums  and  spices. 

Several   days    elapsed  without  tidings  of  the  stragglers,  and 
Columbus,  giving  them  up  for  lost,  was   on  the  point  of  sailing, 


ALONZO  DE  OJEDA  IN   SEARCH   OF  THE   LOST   EXPLORING  PARTY   BESET   BY   INNUMERABLE  HARDSHIPS 

(200) 


OF    COLUMBUS.  203 

when  they  made  their  way  back  to  the  fleet,  haggard  and  exhausted. 
For  several  days,  they  had  been  bewildered  in  the  mazes  of  a  forest 
so  dense  as  almost  to  exclude  the  day.  Some  of  them  had  climbed 
trees  in  hopes  of  getting  a  sight  of  the  stars,  by  which  to  govern 
their  course,  but  the  height  of  the  branches  shut  out  all  view  of 
the  heavens.  The)-  were  almost  reduced  to  despair,  when  they  for- 
tunately arrived  at  the  seashore,  and  keeping  along  it,  came  to 
where  the  fleet  was  at  anchor. 

After  leaving  Guadaloupe,  Columbus  touched  at  other  of  the 
Caribbean  Islands.  At  one  of  them,  which  he  named  Santa  Cruz, 
a  ship's  boat,  sent  on  shore  for  water,  had  an  encounter  with  a 
canoe,  in  which  were  many  Indians,  some  of  whom  were  females. 
The  women  fought  as  desperately  as  the  men,  and  plied  their  bows 
with  such  vigor,  that  one  of  them  sent  an  arrow  through  a  Spanish 
buckler,  and  wounded  the  soldier  who  bore  it.  The  canoe  being 
run  down  and  overset,  they  continued  to  fight  while  in  the  water, 
gathering  themselves  occasionally  on  sunken  rocks,  and  managing 
their  weapons  as  dexterously  as  if  they  had  been  on  firm  ground. 
It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  the}-  could  be  overpowered  and 
taken.  When  brought  on  board  the  ships,  the  Spaniards  could  not 
but  admire  their  untamed  spirit  and  fierce  demeanor.  One  of  the 
females,  from  the  reverence  with  which  the  rest  treated  her,  ap- 
peared to  be  their  queen  ;  she  was  accompanied  by  her  son,  a  young 
man  strongly  made,  with  a  haughty  and  frowning  brow,  who  had 
been  wounded  in  the  combat.  One  of  the  Indians  had  been  trans- 
pierced by  a  lance,  and  died  of  the  wound ;  and  one  of  the  Spaniards 
died  a  day  or  two  afterwards,  of  a  wound  received  from  a  poisoned 
arrow. 

Pursuing  his  voyage,  Columbus  passed  by  a  cluster  of  small 
islands,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  The  Eleven  Thousand  Vir- 
gins, and  arrived  one  evening  in  sight  of  a  great  island,  covered 
with  fine  forests,  and  indented  with  havens.  It  was  called  by  the 
natives  Boriquen,  but  he  named  it  San  Juan  Bautista ;  it  is  the 
same  since  known  by  the  name  of  Porto  Rico.  After  running  for 
a  whole  day  along  its  beautiful  coast,  and  touching  at  a  bay  at  the 
west  end,  he  arrived,  on  the  2 2d  of  November,  off  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  Hayti,  or  Hispaniola.  The  greatest  animation  prevailed 
throughout  the  armada  at  the  thoughts  of  soon  arriving  at  the  end 
of  their  voyage,  while  those  who  had  accompanied  Columbus  in  the 


204 


THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 


preceding  expedition,  looked  forward  to  meeting  with  the  comrades 
they  had  left  behind,  and  to  a  renewal  of  pleasant  scenes  among  the 
groves  of  Hayti.  Passing  by  the  gulf  of  Las  Fleches,  where  the 
skirmish  had  occurred  with  the  natives,  Columbus  set  on  shore  one 
of  the  young  Indians  who  had  been  taken  from  the  neighborhood, 
and  had  accompanied  him  to  Spain.  He  dismissed  him  finely  ap- 
parelled and  loaded  with  trinkets,  anticipating  favorable  effects 
from  the  accounts  he  would  be  able  to  give  to  his  countrymen  of  the 
power  and  munificence  of  the  Spaniards,  but  he  never  heard  any 
thing  of  him  more.  Only  one  Indian,  of  those  who  had  been  to 
Spain,  remained  in  the  fleet,  a  young  Lucayan,  native  of  the  island 
of  Guanahani,  who  had  been  baptized  at  Barcelona,  and  named  after 
the  admiral's  brother,  Diego  Colon ;  he  continued  always  faithful 
and  devoted  to  the  Spaniards. 

Continuing  along  the  coast,  Columbus  paused  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Monte  Christi,  to  fix  upon  a  place  for  a  settlement,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  stream  said  to  abound  in  gold,  to  which,  in  his 
first  voyage,  he  had  given  the  name  of  Rio  del  Oro.  Here,  as  the 
seamen  were  ranging  the  shore,  they  found  the  bodies  of  three  men 
and  a  boy,  one  of  whom  had  a  rope  of  Spanish  grass  about  his  neck, 
and  another,  from  having  a  beard,  was  evidently  a  European.  The 
bodies  were  in  a  state  of  decay,  but  bore  the  marks  of  violence. 
This  spectacle  gave  rise  to  many  gloomy  forebodings,  and  Colum- 
bus hastened  forward  to  La  Navidad,  full  of  apprehensions  that 
some  disaster  had  befallen  Diego  de  Arana  and  his  companions. 


[,-  .. 

IX*t—/ 

— — — — — ^~ 

[v";^'-.; 

i 

^ 

mm 

tf&J 

'$&• 

w 

L^V^MM 

n 

SjrT 

mm) 

Hi 

FROM  THE  COLUMBUS  STATUE  AT  GENOA. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


FATE   OF  THE    FORTRESS   OF  LA  NAVIDAO.     TRANSACTIONS  AT  THE    HARBOR.      (1493.) 


_N  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  November,  Co- 
luinbns  anchored  opposite  to  the  harbor  of 
La  Navidad,  about  a  league  from  the  land. 
As  it  was  too  dark  to  distinguish  objects, 
he  ordered  two  signal  guns  to  be  fired. 
The  report  echoed  along  the  shore,  but 
there  was  no  gun,  or  light,  or  friendly 
shout  in  reply.  Several  hours  passed  away 
in  the  most  dismal  suspense ;  about  mid- 
night, a  number  of  Indians  came  off  in  a 
canoe  and  inquired  for  the  admiral,  refusing 
to  come  on  board  until  they  should  see  him 
personally.  Columbus  showed  himself  at 
the  side  of  his  vessel,  and  a  light  being  held 
up,  his  countenance  and  commanding  person 
were  not  to  be  mistaken.  The  Indians  now  entered  the  ship  with- 
out hesitation.  One  of  them  was  a  cousin  of  the  cacique  Guacan- 
agari,  and  the  bearer  of  a  present  from  him.  The  first  inquiry  of 
Columbus  was  concerning  the  garrison.  He  was  informed  that 
several  of  the  Spaniards  had  died  of  sickness,  others  had  fallen  in 
a  quarrel  among  themselves,  and  others  had  removed  to  a  different 
part  of  the  island; — that  Guacanagari  had  been  assailed  by  Cao- 
nabo,  the  fierce  cacique  of  the  -golden  mountains  of  Cibao,  who  had 
wounded  him  in  combat,  and  burnt  his  village,  and  that  he  re- 
mained ill  of  his  wound,  in  a  neighboring  hamlet. 

Melancholy  as  were  these  tidings,  they  relieved  Columbus  from 
the  painful  suspicion  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  cacique  and 
people  in  whom  he  had  confided,  and  gave  him  hopes  of  finding 


(205) 


206  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

some  of  the  scattered  garrison  still  alive.  The  Indians  were  well 
entertained,  and  gratified  with  presents  ;  on  departing  the}-  prom- 
ised to  return  in  the  morning  with  Guacanagari.  The  morning, 
however,  dawned  and  passed  away,  and  the  da}'  declined  without 
the  promised  visit  from  the  chieftain.  There  was  a  silence  and  an 
air  of  desertion  about  the  whole  neighborhood.  Not  a  canoe  ap- 
peared in  the  harbor;  not  an  Indian  hailed  them  from  the  land,  nor 
was  there  any  smoke  to  be  seen  rising  from  among  the  groves. 
Towards  the  evening,  a  boat  was  sent  on  shore  to  reconnoiter.  The 
crew  hastened  to  the  place  where  the  fortress  had  been  erected. 
They  found  it  burnt  and  demolished ;  the  palisadoes  beaten  down, 
and  the  ground  strewn  with  broken  chests,  spoiled  provisions,  and 
the  fragments  of  European  garments.  Not  an  Indian  approached 
them,  and  if  they  caught  a  sight  of  any  lurking  among  the  trees, 
they  vanished  on  finding  themselves  perceived.  Meeting  no  one 
from  whom  they  could  obtain  information  concerning  this  melan- 
choly scene,  they  returned  to  the  ships  with  dejected  hearts. 

Columbus,  himself,  landed  on  the  following  morning,  and  re- 
pairing to  the  ruins  of  the  fortress,  caused  diligent  search  to  be 
made  for  the  dead  bodies  of  the  garrison.  Cannon  and  arquebuses 
were  discharged  to  summon  any  survivors  that  might  be  in  the 
neighborhood,  but  none  made  their  appearance.  Columbus  had 
ordered  Arana  and  his  fellow  officers,  in  case  of  sudden  danger,  to 
burj-  all  the  treasure  they  might  possess,  or  throw  it  in  the  well 
of  the  fortress.  The  well  was  therefore  searched,  and  excavations 
were  made  among  the  ruins,  but  no  gold  was  to  be  found.  Not  far 
from  the  fortress,  the  bodies  of  eleven  Europeans  were  discovered 
buried  in  different  places,  and  they  appeared  to  have  been  for  some 
time  in  the  ground.  In  the  houses  of  a  neighboring  hamlet  were 
found  several  European  articles,  which  could  not  have  been  pro- 
cured by  barter.  This  gave  suspicions  that  the  fortress  had  been 
plundered  by  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  village  of  Guacanagari  was  a  mere  heap  of  burnt  ruins,  which 
showed  that  he  and  his  people  had  "been  involved  in  the  same  dis- 
aster with  the  garrison.  Columbus  was  for  some  time  perplexed 
by  these  contradictory  documents  of  a  disastrous  stor}\  At  length 
a  communication  was  effected  with  some  of  the  natives ;  their  evi- 
dent apprehensions  were  dispelled,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  interpreter 
the  fate  of  the  garrison  was  more  minutely  ascertained. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


207 


It  appeared  that  Columbus  had  scarcely  set  sail  for  Spain,  when 
all  his  counsels  and  commands  faded  from  the  minds  of  those  who 
remained  behind.  Instead 
of  cultivating  the  good  will 
of  the  natives,  they  endeav- 
ored, by  all  kinds  of  wrong- 
ful means,  to  get  possession 
of  their  golden  ornaments 
and  other  articles  of  value, 
and  seduced  from  them  their 
wives  and  daughters.  Fierce 
brawls  occurred  between 
themselves,  about  their  ill- 
gotten  spoils,  or  the  favors 
of  the  Indian  women.  In 
vain  did  Diego  de  Arana  in- 
terpose his  authority;  all 
order,  all  subordination,  all 
unanimity,  were  at  an  end ; 
factions  broke  out  among 
them,  and  at  length  ambi- 
tion arose  to  complete  the 
destruction  of  this  mimic 
empire.  Pedro  Gutierrez 
and  Rodrigo  de  Escobedo, 
whom  Columbus  had  left  as 
lieutenants,  to  succed  Arana 
in  case  of  accident,  now  as- 
pired to  an  equal  share  in 
the  authority.  In  the  quar- 
rels which  succeeded,  a 
Spaniard  was  killed,  and 
Gutierrez  and  Escobedo, 
having  failed  in  their  object, 
withdrew  from  the  fortress,  with  nine  of  their  adherents,  and  a 
number  of  women,  and  set  off  for  the  mountains  of  Cibao,  with  the 
idea  of  procuring  immense  wealth  from  its  golden  mines.  These 
mountains  were  in  the  territories  of  the  famous  Caonabo,  called  by 
the  Spaniards  "the  lord  of  the  golden  house."     He  was  a  Carib  by 


COLUMBUS,    WITH     THE    ASSISTANCE    OF     HIS    INDIANS    FROM    SANTA    CRUZ,     FINDS    THE    BODIES    OF    SOME 
OF   THE   SLAIN    GARRISON    OF    LA    NAVIDAD. 


208  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

birth,  and  had  come  an  adventurer  to  the  island,  but,  possessing  the 
fierceness  and  enterprise  of  his  nation,  had  gained  such  an  ascend- 
ancy over  these  simple  and  unwarlike  people,  as  to  make  himself 
their  most  powerful  cacique.  The  wonderful  accounts  of  the  white 
men  had  reached  him  among  his  mountains,  and  he  had  the  shrewd- 
ness to  perceive  that  his  own  consequence  must  decline  before  such 
formidable  intruders.  The  departure  of  Columbus  had  given  him 
hopes  that  their  intrusion  would  be  but  temporary;  the  discords  of 
those  who  remained  increased  his  confidence.  No  sooner,  therefore, 
did  Gutierrez  and  Escobedo,  with  their  companions,  appear  in  his 
dominions,  than  he  seized  them  and  put  them  to  death.  He  then 
assembled  his  subjects,  and  traversing  the  forests  with  profound  se- 
crecy, arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  La  Navidad  without  being  discov- 
ered. But  ten  men  remained  in  the  fortress  with  Arana ;  the  rest 
were  living  in  careless  security  in  the  village.  In  the  dead  of  the 
night  Caonabo  and  his  warriors  burst  upon  the  place  with  fright- 
ful }rells,  and  set  fire  to  the  fortress  and  village.  The  Spaniards 
were  completely  taken  by  surprise.  Eight  were  driven  to  the  sea- 
side, and,  rushing  into  the  waves,  were  drowned  ;  the  rest  were 
massacred.  Guacanagari  and  his  subjects  fought  faithfully  in  de- 
fence of  their  guests,  but,  not  being  of  a  warlike  character,  they 
were  easily  routed.  The  cacique  was  wounded  in  the  conflict,  and 
his  village  burnt  to  the  ground. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  first  European  establishment  iu  the 
new  world.  It  presents  in  a  diminutive  compass  an  epitome  of  the 
gross  vices  which  degrade  civilization,  and  the  grand  political  errors 
which  sometimes  subvert  the  mightiest  empires.  All  law  and  order 
were  relaxed  by  licentiousness;  public  good  was  sacrificed  to  private 
interest  and  passion  ;  the  community  was  convulsed  by  divers  fac- 
tions, until  the  whole  body  politic  was  shaken  asunder  by  two  as- 
piring demagogues,  ambitious  of  the  command  of  a  petty  fortress 
in  a  wilderness,  and  the  supreme  control  of  eight  and  thirty  men! 

This  account  of  the  catastrophe  of  the  fortress  satisfied  Colum- 
bus of  the  good  faith  of  Guacanagari ;  but  circumstances  concurred 
to  keep  alive  the  suspicions  entertained  of  him  by  the  Spaniards. 
Columbus  paid  a  visit  to  the  chieftain,  whom  he  found  in  a  neigh- 
boring village,  suffering  apparently  from  a  bruise  which  he  had  re- 
ceived in  the  leg  from  a  stone.  Several  of  his  subjects,  also,  ex- 
hibited recent  wounds,  which  had  evidently  been  made  by  Indian 


OF   COLUMBUS.  209 

weapons.  The  cacique  was  greatly  agitated  at  seeing  Columbus, 
and  deplored  with  tears  the  misfortunes  of  the  garrison.  At  the 
request  of  the  admiral,  his  leg  was  examined  by  a  Spanish  surgeon, 
but  no  sign  of  a  wound  was  to  be  seen,  though  he  shrunk  with  pain 
whenever  the  leg  was  touched.  As  some  time  had  elapsed  since  the 
battle,  the  external  bruise  might  have  disappeared,  while  a  tender- 
ness might  remain  in  the  part.  Many  of  the  Spaniards,  however, 
who  had  not  witnessed  the  generous  conduct  of  the  cacique  in  the 
first  voyage,  looked  upon  his  lameness  as  feigned,  and  the  whole 
story  of  the  battle  a  fabrication,  to  conceal  his  perfidy.  Columbus 
persisted  in  believing  him  innocent,  and  invited  him  on  board  of 
his  ships,  where  the  cacique  was  greatly  astonished  at  the  wonders 
of  art  and  nature,  brought  from  the  old  world.  What  most  amazed 
him  were  the  horses.  He  had  never  seen  any  but  the  most  dimin- 
utive quadrupeds,  and  gazed  with  awe  at  the  grandeur  of  these 
noble  animals,  their  great  strength,  terrific  appearance,  yet  perfect 
docility.  The  sight  of  the  Carib  prisoners  also  increased  his  idea 
of  the  prowess  of  the  Spaniards,  having  the  hardihood  to  invade 
these  terrible  beings,  even  in  their  strongholds,  while  he  could 
scarcely  look  upon  them  without  shuddering,  though  in  chains. 

On  board  the  ship  were  several  Indian  women  who  had  been 
captives  to  the  Caribs.  Among  them  was  one  distinguished  above 
her  companions  by  a  certain  loftiness  of  demeanor ;  she  had  been 
much  noticed  and  admired  by  the  Spaniards,  who  had  given  her  the 
name  of  Catalina.  She  particularly  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
cacique,  who  is  represented  to  have  been  of  an  amorous  complexion. 
He  spoke  to  her  repeatedly,  with  great  gentleness  of  tone  and  man- 
ner, pity  in  all  probability  being  mingled  with  his  admiration ;  for, 
though  rescued  from  the  hands  of  the  Caribs,  she  and  her  compan- 
ions were  still,  in  a  manner,  captives  on  board  of  the  ship. 

A  collation  was  served  up  for  the  entertainment  of  Guacanagari, 
and  Columbus  endeavored  by  kindness  and  hospitality  to  revive 
their  former  cordial  intercourse,  but  it  was  all  in  vain ;  the  cacique 
was  evidently  distrustful  and  ill  at  ease.  The  suspicions  of  his 
guilt  gained  ground  among  the  Spaniards.  Father  Boyle,  in  par- 
ticular, regarded  him  with  an  evil  eye,  and  advised  Columbus,  now 
that  he  had  him  securely  on  board  of  his  ship,  to  detain  him  pris- 
oner ;  but  Columbus  rejected  the  counsel  of  the  crafty  friar,  as 
contrary  to  sound  policy  and  honorable  faith.     The  cacique,  how- 


2IO 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


THE    CRAFTY    FRIAR. 


ever,  accustomed  in    his  former  intercourse  with  the  Spaniards 
to  meet  on  every  side  with   faces  beaming  with  gratitute  and 
friendship,  could  not  but  perceive  the  altered  looks  of  cold  sus- 
picion and  secret  hostility.     Notwithstanding  the  frank  and 
cordial  hospitality  of  the-  admiral,  therefore,  he  soon  took 
leave  and  returned  to  land. 

On  the  following  da}-,  there  was  a  mysterious  move- 
ment and  agitation  among  the  natives  on  shore.  The 
%28faj).  :5|  brother  of  Guacanagari  came  on  board,  un- 
der pretext  of  bartering  a  quantity  of  gold, 
but,  as  it  afterwards  proved,  to  bear  a  mes- 
sage to  Catalina,  the  Indian  female,  whose 
beauty  had  captivated  the  heart  of  the  ca- 
cique, and  whom,  with  a  kind  of  native  gal- 
lantry, he  wished  to  deliver  from  bondage. 
At  midnight,  when  the  crew  were  buried 
in  their  first  sleep,  Catalina  awakened  her 
female  companions,  and  proposed  a  bold  attempt  to  gain  their  lib- 
erty. The  ship  was  anchored  full  three  miles  from  the  shore,  and  the 
sea  was  rough ;  but  these  island  women  were  accustomed  to  buffet 
with  the  waves,  and  the  water  was,  to  them,  almost  as  their  natural 
element.  Letting  themselves  down  silently  from  the  side  of  the 
vessel,  they  trusted  to  the  strength  of  their  arms,  and  swam  bravely 
for  the  shore.  They  were  overheard  by  the  watch,  the  alarm  was 
given,  the  boats  were  manned  and  gave  chase  in  the  direction  of  a 
light  blazing  on  the  shore,  an  evident  beacon  for  the  fugitives. 
Such  was  the  vigor  of  these  sea  nymphs,  however,  that  they  reached 
the  land  before  they  were  overtaken.  Four  were  captured  on  the 
beach,  but  the  heroic  Catalina,  with  the  rest  of  her  companions, 
escaped  in  safety  to  the  forest.  Guacanagari  disappeared  on  the 
same  day  with  all  his  household  and  effects,  and  it  was  supposed 
had  taken  refuge,  with  his  island  beauty,  in  the  interior.  His 
desertion  gave  redoubled  force  to  the  doubts  heretofore  entertained, 
and  he  was  generally  stigmatized  as  the  perfidious  destroyer  of  the 
garrison. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


FOUNDING   Or  THE  CITY  OF    ISABELLA.      DISCONTE  NTS   OF  TH  E  PEOPLE.      (1493.) 

*HE  misfortunes  which  had  befallen  the 
Spaniards,  both  by  sea  and  land,  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  harbor,  threw  a  gloom 
over  the  place,  and  it  was  considered  by 
the  superstitious  mariners  as  under 
some  baneful  influence,  or  malignant 
star.  The  situation,  too,  was  low, 
moist,  and  unhealthy,  and  there  was  no 
\j,  stone  in  the  neighborhood  for  building. 
Columbus  searched,  therefore,  for  a  more 
favorable  place  for  his  projected  colony, 
and  fixed  upon  a  harbor  about  ten 
=  \j§§^ 'Tj}  leagues  east  of  Monte  Christi,  protected 
T  4$)  /J  on  one  side  by  a  natural  rampart  of 
*&  rocks,  and  on  the  other  by  an  impervious 
forest,  with  a  fine  plain  in  the  vicinity,  watered 
by  two  rivers.  A  great  inducement  also  for  set- 
tling here  was,  that  it  was  at  no  great  distance  from  the  mount- 
ains of  Cibao,  where  the  gold  mines  were  situated. 

The  troops  and  the  various  persons  to  be  employed  in  the  col- 
ony were  immediately  disembarked,  together  with  the  stores,  arms, 
ammunition,  and  all  the  cattle  and  live  stock.  An  encampment 
was  formed  on  the  margin  of  the  plain,  round  a  sheet  of  water,  and 
the  plan  of  a  town  traced  out,  and  the  houses  commenced.  The 
public  edifices,  such  as  a  church,  a  storehouse,  and  a  residence  for 
the  admiral,  were  constructed  of  stone ;  the  rest  of  wood,  plaster, 


(*»> 


212  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

reeds,  and  such  other  materials  as  could  be  readily  procured.  Thus 
was  founded  the  first  Christian  city  of  the  new  world,  to  which 
Columbus  gave  the  name  of  Isabella,  in  honor  of  his  royal  pat- 
roness. 

For  a  time  ever)'  one  exerted  himself  with  zeal ;  but  maladies 
soon  began  to  make  their  appearance.  Many  had  suffered  from  sea 
sickness,  and  the  long  confinement  on  board  of  the  ships;  others, 
from  the  exposures  on  the  land,  before  houses  could  be  built  for 
their  reception,  and  from  the  exhalations  of  a  hot  and  moist  cli- 
mate, dense  natural  forests,  and  a  new,  rank  soil,  so  trying  to  con- 
stitutions accustomed  to  a  dry  climate,  and  open,  cultivated  coun- 
try. The  important  and  hurried  labors  of  building  the  city  and 
cultivating  the  earth,  bore  hard  upon  the  Spaniards,  many  of  whom 
were  unaccustomed  to  labor,  and  needed  repose  and  relaxation. 
The  maladies  of  the  mind  also  mingled  with  those  of  the  body. 
Many,  as  has  been  shown,  had  embarked  in  the  enterprise  with  the 
most  visionary  and  romantic  expectations.  What,  then,  was  their 
surprise  at  finding  themselves  surrounded  by  impracticable  forests, 
doomed  to  toil  painfully  for  mere  subsistence,  and  to  attain  every 
comfort  by  the  severest  exertion  !  As  to  gold,  which  the}-  had  ex- 
pected to  find  readily  and  in  abundance,  it  was  to  be  procured  only 
in  small  quantities,  and  by  patient  and  persevering  labor.  AW  these 
disappointments  sank  deep  into  their  hearts,  their  spirits  flagged 
as  their  golden  dreams  melted  away,  and  the  gloom  of  despondency 
aided  the  ravages  of  disease.  Columbus,  himself,  was  overcome  by 
the  fatigues,  anxieties,  and  exposures  he  had  suffered,  and  for  sev- 
eral weeks  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  severe  illness;  but  his  ener- 
getic mind  rose  superior  to  the  maladies  of  the  body,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  give  directions  about  the  building  of  the  city,  and  the 
general  concerns  of  the  expedition. 

The  greater  part  of  the  ships  were  ready  to  return  to  Spain, 
but  he  had  no  treasure  to  send  with  them.  The  destruction  of  the 
garrison  had  defeated  all  his  hopes  of  finding  a  quantity  of  gold, 
amassed  and  ready  to  be  sent  to  the  sovereigns.  It  was  necessary 
for  him  to  do  something,  however,  before  the  vessels  sailed,  to  keep 
up  the  reputation  of  his  discoveries,  and  justify  his  own  magnifi- 
cent representations.  The  region  of  the  mines  la}'  at  a  distance 
of  but  three  or  four  days'  journey,  directly  in  the  interior;  the 
very  name  of  the  cacique,   Caonabo,    signifying  "the  lord  of  the 


12 


0»3) 


214  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

golden  house,"  seemed  to  indicate  the  wealth  of  his  dominions. 
Columbus  'determined,  therefore,  to  send  an  expedition  to  explore 
them.  If  the  result  should  answer  to  the  accounts  given  by  the 
Indians,  he  would  be  able  to  send  home  the  fleet  with  confidence, 
bearing  tidings  of  the  discover}'  of  the  golden  mountains  of  Cibao. 
The  person  chosen  for  this  enterprise  was  Alonzo  de  Ojeda, 
who  delighted  in  all  service  of  an  adventurous  nature.  He  set  out 
from  the  harbor  early  in  January,  1494,  accompanied  by  a  small 
number  of  well-armed  men,  several  of  them  young  and  spirited 
cavaliers  like  himself.  They  crossed  the  first  range  of  mountains 
by  a  narrow  and  winding  Indian  path,  and  descended  into  a  vast 
plain,  covered  with  noble  forests,  and  stiidded  with  villages  and 
hamlets.  The  inhabitants  overwhelmed  them  with  hospitalitv,  and 
delayed  them  in  their  journey  by  their  kindness.  They  had  to 
ford  many  rivers,  also,  so  that  they  were  six  days  in  reaching  the 
chain  of  mountains,  which  locked  up,  as  it  were,  the  golden  region 
of  Cibao.  Here  they  saw  ample  signs  of  natural  wealth.  The 
sands  of  the  mountain  streams  glittered  with  particles  of  gold;  in 
some  places  they  picked  up  large  specimens  of  virgin  ore,  and 
stones  streaked  and  richly  impregnated  with  it.  Ojeda,  himself, 
found  a  mass  of  rude  gold  in  one  of  the  brooks,  weighing  nine 
ounces.  The  little  band  returned  to  the  harbor,  with  enthusiastic 
accounts  of  the  golden  promise  of  these  mountains.  A  young  cav- 
alier, named  Gorvalan,  who  had  been  sent  to  explore  a  different 
tract  of  country,  returned  with  similar  reports.  Encouraged  by 
these  good  tidings,  Columbus  lost  no  time  in  despatching  twelve 
of  the  ships,  under  the  command  of  Antonio  de  Torres,  retaining 
only  five  for  the  service  of  the  colony.  By  these  ships  he  sent 
home  specimens  of  the  gold  found  among  the  mountains  of  Cibao, 
and  of  all  fruits  and  plants  of  unknown  and  valuable  species,  to- 
gether with  the  Carib  captives,  to  be  instructed  in  the  Spanish 
language  and  the  Christian  faith,  that  they  might  serve  as  inter- 
preters, and  aid  in  the  conversion  of  their  countrymen.  He  wrote, 
also,  a  sanguine  account  of  the  two  expeditious  into  the  interior, 
and  expressed  a  confident  expectation,  as  soon  as  the  health  of  him- 
self and  his  people  would  permit,  of  procuring  and  making  abund- 
ant shipments  of  gold,  spices,  and  valuable  drugs.  He  extolled  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  evinced  in  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  sugar- 
cane, and  of  various  European  grains  and  vegetables ;  but  entreated 


OF   COLUMBUS.  215 

supplies  of  provisions  for  the  immediate  wants  of  the  colony,  as 
their  stores  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  they  could  not  accustom 
themselves  to  the  diet  of  the  natives. 

Among  many  sound  and  salutary  suggestions  in  this  letter, 
there  was  one  of  a  pernicious  tendency.  In  his  anxiety  to  lighten 
the  expenses  of  the  colony,  and  procure  revenue  to  the  crown,  he 
recommended  that  the  natives  of  the  Caribbean  Islands,  being  can- 
nibals and  ferocious  invaders  of  their  peaceful  neighbors,  should  be 
captured  and  sold  as  slaves,  or  exchanged  with  merchants  for  live 
stock  and  other  necessary  supplies.  He  observed,  that,  by  trans- 
mitting these  infidels  to  Europe,  where  they  would  have  the  bene- 
fits of  Christian  instruction,  there  would  be  so  many  souls  snatched 
from  perdition,  and  so  many  converts  gained  to  the  faith.  Such  is 
the  strange  sophistry  by  which  upright  men  may  deceive  them- 
selves, and  think  they  are  obeying  the  dictates  of  their  conscience, 
when,  in  fact,  they  are  but  listening  to  the  incitements  of  their 
interest.  It  is  but  just  to  add  that  the  sovereigns  did  not  accord 
with  him  in  his  ideas,  but  ordered  that  the  Caribs  should  be  treated 
like  the  rest  of  the  islanders ;  a  command  which  emanated  from  the 
merciful  heart  of  Isabella,  who  ever  showed  herself  the  benign  pro- 
tectress of  the  Indians. 

When  the  fleet  arrived  in  Europe,  though  it  brought  no  gold, 
3^et  the  tidings  from  Columbus  and  his  companions  kept  up  the 
popular  excitement.  The  sordid  calculations  of  petty  spirits  were 
as  yet  overruled  by  the  enthusiasm  of  generous  minds.  There  was 
something  wonderfully  grand  in  the  idea  of  introducing  new  races 
of  animals  and  plants,  of  building  cities,  extending  colonies  and 
sowing  the  seeds  of  civilization  and  of  enlightened  empire  in  this 
beautiful  but  savage  world.  It  struck  the  minds  of  learned  and 
classical  men  with  admiration,  filling  them  with  pleasant  dreams 
and  reveries,  and  seeming  to  realize  the  poetical  pictures  of  the 
olden  time ;  of  Saturn,  Ceres,  and  Triptolemus,  traveling  about  the 
earth  to  spread  new  inventions  among  mankind,  and  of  the  coloniz- 
ing enterprises  of  the  Phoenicians. 

But  while  such  sanguine  anticipations  were  indulged  in  Eu- 
rope, murmuring  and  sedition  began  to  prevail  among  the  colonists. 
Disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  wealth,  disgusted  with  the  labors 
imposed  upon  them,  and  appalled  by  the  prevalent  maladies,  they 
looked  with  horror  upon  the  surrounding  wilderness,  and  became 


2l6 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


impatient  to  return  to  Spain.     Their  discontents  were  increased  by 
one  Firmin  Cado,  a  wrong-headed  and  captious  man,  who  had  come 

out  as  assayer  and  purifier 
of  metals,  but  whose  igno- 
rance in  his  art  equaled  his 
obstinacy  of  opinion.  He 
pertinaciously  insisted  that 
there  was  scarcely  any  gold 
in  the  island,  and  that  all 
the  specimens  brought  by  the 
natives,  had  been  accumu- 
lated in  the  course  of  sev- 
eral generations,  and  been 
handed  down  from  father 
to  son  in  their  families. 

At  length  a  conspiracy 
was  formed,  headed  by  Ber- 
nal  Diaz  de  Pisa,  the  comp- 
troller, to  take  advantage  of 
the  illness  of  Columbus,  to 
seize  upon  the  ships  remain- 
ing in  the  harbor,  and  to 
return  to  Spain ;  where  they 
thought  it  would  be  easy  to 
justify  their  conduct,  by  ac- 
cusing Columbus  of  gross 
deceptions  and  exaggerations 
concerning  the  countries  he 
had  discovered.  Fortunately, 
Columbus  received  informa- 
tion in  time,  and  arrested 
the  ringleaders  of  the  con- 
spiracy. Bernal  Diaz  was  con- 
fined on  board  of  one  of  the 
ships,  to  be  sent  to  Spain  for  trial ;  and  several  of  the  inferior 
mutineers  were  punished,  but  not  with  the  severity  their  offense 
deserved.  This  was  the  first  time  Columbus  exercised  the  right 
of  punishing  delinquents  in  his  new  government,  and  it  immedi- 
ately caused  a  great  clamor  against  him.    Already  the  disadvantage 


ATOR,    BERNAL   DIAZ    OE    PISA,    ARHESTED    AND   CONFINED   ON    ONE   OF    THfc    SHIPS, 
TO    BE   SENT    TO    SPAIN    FOR   TRIAL. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


217 


of  being  a  foreigner  was  clearly  manifested.  He  had  no  natural 
friends  to  rally  round  him  ;  whereas  the  mutineers  had  connections 
in  Spain,  friends  in  the  colon}-,  and  met  with  sympathy  in  every 
discontented  mind. 


■ 


CHAPTER   XX. 


EXPEDITION   OF  COLUMBUS    INTO  THE    INTERIOR   OF    HISPANIOLA.     (1494.) 

S  the  surest  means  of  quieting  the  murmurs 
and  rousing  the  spirits  of  his  people,  Colum- 
bus, as  soon  as  his  health  permitted,  made 
preparations  for  an  expedition  to  the  mount- 
ains of  Cibao,  to  explore  the  country,  and 
establish  a  post  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mines. 
Placing  his  brother  Diego  in  command  at  Isa- 
bella, during  his  absence,  and  taking  with  him 
every  person  in  health  that  could  be  spared 
from  the  settlement,  and  all  the  cavalry,  he 
departed,  on  the  12th  of  March,  at  the  head  of 
four  hundred  men,  armed  with  helmets  and  corselets,  with  arque- 
buses, lances,  swords,  and  cross-bows,  and  followed  by  laborers  and 
miners,  and  a  multitude  of  the  neighboring  Indians.  After  travers- 
ing a  plain,  and  fording  two  rivers,  the}'  encamped  in  the  evening 
at  the  foot  of  a  wild  and  rocky  pass  of  the  mountains. 

The  ascent  of  this  defile  presented  formidable  difficulties  to 
the  little  arrny,  which  was  encumbered  with  various  munitions, 
and  with  mining  implements.  There  was  nothing  but  an  Indian 
footpath  winding  among  rocks  and  precipices,  and  the  entangled 
vegetation  of  a  tropical  forest.  A  number  of  high-spirited  young 
cavaliers,  therefore,  threw  themselves  in  the  advance,  and  aiding 
the  laborers  and  pioneers,  and  stimulating  them  with  promises  of 
liberal  reward,  they  soon  constructed  the  first  road  formed  by  Eu- 
ropeans in  the  new  world,  which,  in  commemoration  of  their  gen- 
erous zeal,  was  called  El  Puerto  de  los  Hidalgos,  or  the  Pass  of  the 
Hidalgos. 


(2i8) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


219 


On  the  following  day  the  army  toiled  up  this  steep  defile, 
and  arrived  where  the  gorge  of  the  mountain  opened  into  the 
interior.  Here  a  glorious  prospect  burst  upon  their  view.  Be- 
low la}'  a  vast  and  delicious  plain,  enameled  with  all  the  rich 
variety  of  tropical  vegetation.  The  magnificent  forests  presented 
that  mingled  beauty  and  majesty  of  vegetable  forms,  peculiar  to 
these  generous  climates.  Palms  of  prodigious  height,  and  spread- 
ing mahogany  trees,  towered  from  amid  a  wilderness  of  variegated 
foliage.  Universal  freshness  and  verdui-e  were  maintained  by  nu- 
merous streams  which  meandered  gleaming  through  the  deep  bosom 
of  the  woodland,  while  various  villages 
and  hamlets  seen  among  the  trees,  and 
the  smoke  of  others  rising  out  of  the 
forests,  gave  signs  of  a  numerous  popu- 
lation. The  luxuriant  landscape  ex- 
tended as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
until  it  appeared  to  melt  away  and 
mingle  with  the  horizon.  The  Span- 
iards gazed  with  rapture  upon  this  soft, 
voluptuous  country,  which  seemed  to 
realize  their  ideas  of  a  terrestrial  para- 
dise ;  and  Columbus,  struck  with  its  vast 
extent,  gave  it  the  name  of  Vega  Real, 
or  Royal  Plain. 

Having  descended  the  rugged  pass, 
the  army  issued  upon  the  plain,  in  mili- 
tary arra}r,  with  great  clangor  of  war- 
like instruments.  When  the  Indians 
beheld  this  band  of  warriors,  glittering  in  steel,  emerging  from  the 
mountains  with  prancing  steeds  and  floating  banners,  and  heard, 
for  the  first  time,  their  rocks  and  forests  echoing  to  the  din  of 
drum  and  trumpet,  they  were  bewildered  with  astonishment.  The 
horses  especially,  excited  their  terror  and  admiration.  They  at  first 
supposed  the  rider  and  his  steed  to  be  one  animal,  and  nothing 
could  exceed  their  surprise  on  seeing  the  horseman  dismount. 

On  the  approach  of  the  army,  the  Indians  generally  fled  with 
terror,  but  their  fears  were  soon  dispelled  ;  they  then  absolutely 
retarded  the  march  of  the  army  by  their  kindness  and  hospitality  ; 
nor  did  they  appear  to  have  any  idea  of  receiving  a  recompense  for 


f 


COLUMBUS  AND  HIS  ARMY  CROSSES  THE   PUERTO  OE   LOS  HIDALGOS 


220 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


the  provisions  they  furnished  in  abundance.  The  untutored  sav- 
age, in  almost  every  part  of  the  world,  scorns  to  make  a  traffic  of 
hospitality. 

For  two  or  three  days,  they  continued  their  march  across  this 
noble  plain,  where  every  scene  presented  the  luxuriance  of  wild, 
uncivilized  nature.  They  crossed  two  large  rivers ;  one,  called  the 
Yagui  by  the  natives,  was  named  by  the  admiral  the  river  of 
Reeds;  to  the  other  he  gave  the  name  of  Rio  Verde,  or  Green 
River,  from  the  verdure  and  freshness  of  its  banks.  At  length 
they  arrived  at  a  chain  of  loft}T  and  rugged  mountains,  which 
formed  a  kind  of  barrier  to  the  vega,  and  amidst  which  lay  the 
i  golden  region  of  Cibao.  On  entering  this 
vaunted  country,  the  whole  character  of  the 
scenery  changed,  as  if  nature  delighted  in 
contrarieties,  and  displayed  a  miser-like 
poverty  of  exterior  when  teeming  with  hid- 
den treasures.  Instead  of  the  soft,  lux- 
uriant landscape  of  the  vega,  nothing  was 
to  be  seen  but  chains  of  rocky  and  sterile 
mountains,  scantily  clothed  with  pines. 
The  very  name  of  the  country  bespoke  the 
nature  of  the  soil ;  Cibao,  in  the  language 
of  the  natives,  signifying  a  stone.  But  what 
consoled  the  Spaniards  for  the  asperity  of 
the  soil,  was  to  observe  particles  of  gold 
among  the  sands  of  the  streams,  which  they 
reearded  as  earnests  of  the  wealth  locked 
up  in  the  mountains. 
Choosing  a  situation  in  a  neighborhood  that  seemed  to  abound 
in  mines,  Columbus  began  to  build  a  fortress,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  St.  Thomas,  intended  as  a  pleasant,  though  pious,  reproof 
of  Firmin  Cado  and  his  doubting  adherents,  who  had  refused  to 
believe  that  the  island  contained  gold,  until  they  should  behold  it 
with  their  eyes,  and  touch  it  with  their  hands. 

While  the  admiral  remained  superintending  the  building  of 
the  fortress,  he  dispatched  a  young  cavalier  of  Madrid,  named  Juan 
de  Luxan,  with  a  small  band  of  armed  men,  to  explore  the  prov- 
ince. Luxan  returned  after  a  few  days,  with  the  most  satisfactory 
accounts.     He  found  many  parts  of  Cibao  more  capable  of  cultiva- 


COLUMBUS  BUILDS  THE  FOHT  ST    THOMAS  IN  THE  GOLDEN   REGIONS 
OF  CIBAO. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


221 


tion  than  those  that  had  been  seen  by  the  admiral.  The  forests 
appeared  to  abound  with  spices;  the  trees  were  overrun  with  vines 
bearing  clusters  of  grapes  of  pleasant  flavor;  while  every  valley 
and  glen  had  its  stream,  yielding  more  or  less  gold,  and  sho.wing 
the  universal  prevalence  of  that  precious  metal. 

The  natives  of  the  surrounding  country  likewise  flocked  to 
the  fortress  of  St.  Thomas,  bringing  gold  to  exchange  for  European 
trinkets.  One  o  Id  man  brought  two  pieces  of  virgin  ore  weighing 
an  ounce,  and  thought  himself  richly  repaid  on  receiving  a  hawk's 
bell.  On  remarking  the  admiration  of  the  admiral  at  the  size  of 
these  specimens,  he  assured  him  that  in  his  country,  which  lay  at 
half  a  day's  distance,  pieces  were  found  as  big  as  an  orange.  Others 
spoke  of  masses  of  ore  as  large  as  the  head  of  a  child,  to  be  met 
with  in  their  neighborhood.  As  usual,  however,  these  golden 
tracts  were  always  in  some  remote  valley,  or  along  some  rugged 
and  sequestered  stream ;  and  the  wealthiest  spot  was  sure  to  lie  at 
the  greatest  distance — for  the  land  of  promise  is  ever  beyond  the 
mountain. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


CUSTOMS    AND    CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    NATIVES. 

HE  fortress  of  St.  Thomas  being  nearly  com- 
pleted, Columbus  left  it  in  command  of  Pedro 
Margarite,  a  native  of  Catalonia,  and  knight  of 
the  order  of  Santiago,  with  a  garrison  of  fifty- 
six  men,  and  set  out  on  his  return  to  Isabella. 
He  paused  for  a  time  in  the  vega  to  establish 
routes   between   the  fortress  and  the  harbor ; 
during  which  time  he  sojourned  in  the  villages, 
that  his  men  might  become  accustomed  to  the 
food  of  the  natives,  and  that  a  mutual  good-will 
might  grow  up  between  them. 

Columbus  had  already  discovered  the  error  of  one  of  his  opin- 
ions concerning  these  islanders,  formed  during  his  first  voyage. 
They  were  not  so  entirely  pacific,  nor  so  ignorant  of  warlike  arts, 
as  he  had  imagined.  The  casual  descents  of  the  Caribs  had  com- 
pelled the  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast  to  acquaint  themselves  with 
the  use  of  arms ;  and  Caonabo  had  introduced  something  of  his  own 
warlike  spirit  into  the  center  of  the  island.  Yet,  generally  speak- 
ing, the  habits  of  the  people  were  mild  and  gentle.  Their  relig- 
,     ,- ,■;■.,.  ,•■  ious  creed  was  of  a  vague  yet  simple   nature. 

They  believed  in  one  Supreme  Being,  who  in- 
habited the  sky,  who  was  immortal,  omnipotent, 
and  invisible;  to  whom  they  ascribed  an  origin, 
having  had  a  mother,  but  no  father.  They 
never  addressed  their  worship  directly  to  him,  but 
to  inferior  deities,  called  zemes,  a  kind  of  nies- 


INOIAN     FASH  ONING    A    EOW. 
(222) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


223 


FOUND    IN    VARIOUS    PARTS    OF    THE    WEST 
USUALLY     FASHIONED    FROM    STONE. 


sengers,  or  mediators.  Each  cacique,  each  family,  and  each  indi- 
vidual, had  a  particular  zemi  as  a  tutelary  or  protecting  genius ; 
whose  image,  generally  of  a  hideous  form,  was 
placed  about  their  houses,  carved  on  their  furni- 
ture, and  sometimes  bound  to  their  foreheads 
when  thej-  went  to  battle.  They  believed  their 
zemes  to  be  transferable,  with  all  their  beneficial 
powers  ;  they,  therefore,  often  stole  them  from  each 
other,  and,  when  the  Spaniards  arrived,  hid  them 
away,  lest  the)-  should  be  taken  by  the    strangers. 

They  believed  that  these  zemes  presided  over 
ever}.'  object  in  nature.  v  Some  had  sway  over  the  elements,  causing 
sterile  or  abundant  years,  sending  whirlwinds  and  tempests  of  rain 
and  thunder,  or  sweet  and  temperate  breezes,  and  prolific  showers. 
Some  governed  the  seas  and  forests,  the  springs  and  fountains,  like 
the  nereids,  the  dryads,  and  satyrs  of  antiquity.  They  gave  success 
in  hunting  and  fishing  ;  they  guided  the  mountain  streams  into  safe 
channels,  leading  them  to  meander  peacefully  through  the  plains ; 
or,  if  incensed,  they  caused  them  to  burst  forth  into  floods  and 
torrents,  inundating  and  laying  waste  the  valleys. 

The  Indians  were  well  acquainted  with  the  medicinal  proper- 
ties of  trees  and  vegetables.  Their  butios,  or  priests,  acted  as  physi- 
cians, curing  diseases 
with  simples,  but  making 
use  of  many  mysterious 
rites ;  chanting  and 
burning  a  light  in  the 
chamber  of  the  patient, 
and  pretending  to  exor- 
cise the  malady,  and  to 
send  it  to  the  sea  or  to 
the  mountain.  They 
practiced  also  many  de- 
ceptions, making  the 
idols  to  speak  with 
oracular  voice,  to  en- 
force the  orders  of  the 
caciques. 


INDIAN    HUT   IN   THE   ANTILLES. 

(RESTORATION   FROM  DATA  OBTAINED  FROM  SUCH,  AS   MAY  STILL  BE  SEEN  ON  THE  COAST  OF  THE  NEIGHBORING 

CONTINENT.) 


2  24  THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 

Once  a  year,  each  cacique  held  a  festival  in  honor  of  his  zemi, 
when  his  subjects  formed  a  procession  to  the  temple,  the  married 
men  and  women  decorated  with  their  most  precious  ornaments ; 
the  young  females  entirely  naked,  carrying  baskets  of  cakes,  or- 
namented with  flowers,  and  singing  as  they  advanced,  while  the 
cacique  beat  time  on  an  Indian  drum.  After  the  cakes  had  been 
offered  to  the  zemi  they  were  broken  and  distributed  among  the 
people,  to  be  preserved  in  their  houses  as  charms  against  all  ad- 
verse accidents.  The  young  females  then  danced  to  the  cadence 
of  songs  in  praise  of  their  deities,  and  of  the  heroic  actions  of  their 
ancient  caciques ;  and  the  whole  ceremony  concluded  by  a  grand 
invocation  to  the  zemi  to  watch  over  and  protect  the  nation. 

The  natives  believed  that  their  island  of  Hayti  was  the  earliest 
part  of  creation,  and  that  the  sun  and  moon  issued  out  of  one  of 
its  caverns  to  give  light  to  the  universe.  This  cavern  still  exists 
near  Cape  Francois,  and  the  hole  in  the  roof  may  still  be  seen  from 
whence  the  Indians  believed  the  sun  and  moon  had  sallied  forth  to 
take  their  places  in  the  sky.  It  was  consecrated  as  a  kind  of  tem- 
ple ;  two  idols  were  placed  in  it,  and  the  walls  were  decorated  with 
green  branches.  In  times  of  great  drought  the  natives  made  pil- 
grimages and  processions  to  it,  with  songs  and  dances,  and  offerings 
of  fruit  and  flowers. 

They  ascribed  to  another  cavern,  the  origin  of  the  human  race 
believing  that  the  large  men  issued  forth  from  a  great  aperture, 
but  the  little  men  from  a  little  cranny.  For  a  long  time  they  dared 
venture  from  the  cavern  only  in  the  night,  for  the  sight  of  the  sun 
was  fatal  to  them,  producing  wonderful  transformations.  One  of 
their  number,  having  lingered  on  a  river's  bank,  where  he  was  fish- 
ing, until  the  sun  had  risen,  was  turned  into  a  bird  of  melodious 
note,  which  yearly,  about  the  time  of  his  transformation,  is  heard 
singing  plaintively  in  the  night  bewailing  his  misfortune.  This 
is  the  same  bird  which  Columbus  mistook  for  a  nightingale. 

When  the  human  race  at  length  emerged  from  the  cave,  they 
for  some  time  wandered  about  disconsolately  without  females,  until, 
coming  near  a  small  lake,  they  beheld  certain  animals  among  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  which  proved  to  be  women.  On  attempting 
to  catch  them,  however,  they  were  found  to  be  as  slippery  as  eels, 
so  that  it  was  impossible  to  hold  them,  until  they  employed  certain 
men  whose  hands  had  been  rendered  rough  by  a  kind  of  leprosy. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  225 

These  succeeded  in  securing  four  of  them ;  and  from  these  slippery 
females  the  world  was  peopled. 

Like  most  savage  nations,  they  had  a  tradition  concerning  the 
deluge,  equally  fanciful  with  the  preceding.  They  said  that  there 
once  lived  in  the  island  a  mighty  cacique,  whose  onlj-  son  conspiring 
against  him,  he  slew  him.  He  afterwards  preserved  his  bones  in  a 
gourd,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  natives  with  the  remains  of  their 
friends.  On  a  subsequent  day,  the  cacique  and  his  wife  opened 
the  gourd  to  contemplate  the  bones  of  their  son,  when,  to  their  sur- 
prise, several  fish  leaped  out.  Upon  this  the  discreet  cacique 
closed  the  gourd,  and  placed  it  on  the  top  of  his  hut,  boasting  that 
he  had  the  sea  shut  up  within  it,  and  could  have  fish  whenever  he 
pleased.  Four  brothers,  however,  children  of  the  same  birth,  and 
curious  intermeddlers,  hearing  of  this  gourd,  came  during  the  ab- 
sence of  the  cacique  to  peep  into  it.  In  their  carelessness  they 
suffered  it  to  fall  upon  the  ground,  where  it  was  dashed  to  pieces ; 
when,  lo  !  to  their  astonishment  and  dismay,  there  issued  forth  a 
mighty  flood,  with  dolphins  and  sharks,  and  tumbling  porpoises, 
and  great  spouting  whales ;  and  the  water  spread  until  it  overflowed 
the  earth,  and  formed  the  ocean,  leaving  only  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  uncovered,  which  are  the  present  islands. 

They  had  singular. modes  of  treating  the  dying  and  the  dead. 
When  the  life  of  a  cacique  was  despaired  of,  they  strangled  him, 
out  of  a  principle  of  respect,  rather  than  suffer  him  to  die  like  the 
vulgar.  Common  people,  in  like  situation,  were  extended  in  their 
hammocks,  bread  and  water  placed  beside  them,  and  they  were  then 
abandoned  to  die  in  solitude.  Sometimes  they  were  carried  to  the 
cacique,  and  if  he  permitted  them  the  distinction,  they  were  stran- 
gled. The  body  of  the  deceased  was  sometimes  consumed  with 
fire  in  his  habitation ;  sometimes  the  bones  were  retained,  or  the 
head,  or  a  limb,  and  treasured  up  among  the  family  relics.  After 
the  death  of  a  cacique,  his  body  was  opened,  dried  at  a  fire,  and 
preserved. 

They  had  confused  notions  of  the  existence  of  the  soul  when 
separated  from  the  body,  and  believed  in  apparitions  of  the  deceased. 
They  had  an  idea  that  the  spirits  of  good  men  after  death  were  re- 
united to  the  spirits  of  those  they  had  most  loved,  and  to  those  of 
their  ancestors  ;  they  were  transported  to  a  happy  region,  generally 
supposed  to  be  near  a  lake,  in  the  beautiful  province  of  Xaragua, 


226 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


in  the  western  part  of  the  island.  Here  they  lived  in  shady  and 
blooming  bowers,  with  lovely  females,  and  banqueted  on  delicious 
fruits. 

The  dances  to  which  the  natives  were  so  addicted  were  not 
mere  idle  pastimes,  but  were  often  ceremonials  of  a  religious  and 
mystic  nature.  In  these  were  typified  their  historical  events  and 
their  projected  enterprises,  whether  of  war  or  hunting.    They  were 


INDIAN    DANCE. 

DRAWING    MADE     FROM     DATA    OBTAINED    FROM     PETER    MARTYR,     AND    DESCRIPTIONS    FURNISHED    8Y     EARLV     NAVIGATORS. 

performed  to  the  chant  of  certain  metres  and  ballads  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  ;  some  of  a  sacred  character,  contain- 
ing their  notions  of  theology  and  their  religious  fables ;  others 
heroic  and  historic,  rehearsing  the  deeds  of  their  ancestors.  These 
rhymes  they  called  areytos,  and  sang  them  to  the  accompaniment 
of  rude  timbrels,  made  from  the  shells  of  certain  fishes,  or  to  the 
sound  of  a  drum  made  from  a  hollow  tree. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


227 


The  natives  appeared  to  the  Spaniards  to  be  an  idle  and  im- 
provident race,  and  indifferent  to  most  of  the  objects  of  human 
anxiety  and  toil.  They  were  impatient  of  all  kinds  of  labor, 
scarcely  giving  themselves  the  trouble  to  cultivate  the  yuca  root, 
the  maize,  and  the  sweet  potato,  which  formed  their  main  articles 
of  food.  They  loitered  away  existence  under  the  shade  of  their 
trees,  or  amusing  themselves  occasionally  with  their  games  and  = 
dances. 

In  fact,  they  were  destitute  of  all   powerful  motives  to  toil, 
being  free  from  most  of  those  wants  which  doom  mankind,  in 
civilized  life,  and  in  less  genial  climes,  to  inces- 
sant labor.     In  the  soft  region  of  the  vega,  the 
circling    seasons    brought    each    its    store    of 
fruits,  and  while  some  were  gathered  in  full 
maturity,     others    were     ripening    on     the 
boughs,  and  buds  and  blossoms  gave  promise 
of  still  succeeding  abundance.     What  need 
was  there  of  garnering    up  and  anxiously 
providing  for    coming    days,    to    men    who 
lived  amid  a  perpetual  harvest?    What  need, 
too,  of  toilfully  spinning  or  laboring  at  the 
loom,  where  a  genial  temperature  prevailed 
throughout    the  year,    and    neither   nature 
nor    custom    prescribed     the    necessity    of 
clothing? 

The     hospitality     which     characterizes 
men  in  such  a  simple  and  easy  mode  of  ex- 
istence, was  evinced  toward  Columbus  and 
his  followers,  during  their    sojourn  in  the 
vega.     Wherever  they  went,  it  was   a  con- 
tinual scene  of  festivity  and  rejoicing,  and 
the  natives  hastened   from   all    parts   to  lay  the  treasures  of  their 
groves,  and  streams,  and  mountains,  at    the  feet  of  beings  whom 
they  still  considered  as  descended  from  the  skies,  to   bring  bless- 
ings to  their  island. 

As  we  accompany  Columbus,  in  imagination,  on  his  return  to 
the  harbor,  over  the  rocky  height  from  whence  the  vega  first  broke 
upon  the  eye  of  the  Spaniards,  we  can  not  help  pausing,  to  cast 
back  a  look  of  mingled  pity  and  admiration,  over  this  beautiful  but 


NATIVES    OF    HAYTI. 

REDRAWN    FROM    THE    DESCRIPTIONS    FURNISHED    BY 
NAVIGATORS. 


THE    EARLY 


228 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


devoted  region.  The  dream  of  natural  liberty  and  ignorant  con- 
tent was  as  yet  unbroken,  but  the  fiat  had  gone  forth;  the  white 
man  had  penetrated  into  the  land ;  avarice,  and  pride,  and  ambition, 
and  sordid  care,  aud  pining  labor,  were  soon  to  follow,  and  the  in- 
dolent paradise  of  the  Indian  was  about  to  disappear  for  ever. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


SICKNESS  AND    DISCONTENT  AT  THE   SETTLEMENT  OF    ISABELLA.      PREPARATIONS  OF 
COLUMBUS    FOR   A  VOYAGE  TO   CUBA.      (1494.) 


OLUMBUS  had  scarcely  returned  to  the 
harbor,  when  a  messenger  arrived  from 
Pedro  Margarite,  the  commander  at  Fort 
St.  Thomas,  informing  him  that  the 
Indians  of  the  vicinity  had  abandoned 
their  villages,  and  broken  off  all  inter- 
course, and  that  he  understood  Caonabo 
was  assembling  his  warriors  to  attack 
the  fortress.  From  what  the  admiral  had 
seen  of  the  Indians  in  the  interior,  and  the 
awe  in  which  they  stood  of  the  white  men 
and  their  horses,  he  felt  little  apprehensions 
from  their  hostility,  and  contented  himself  with 
sending  a  reinforcement  of  twenty  men  to  the  fortress, 
and  detaching  thirty  more  to  open  the  road  between 
it  and  the  port.  What  gave  him  most  anxiety  was  the 
distress  which  continued  to  increase  in  the  settlement. 
The  heat  and  humidity  of  the  climate,  which  gave  won- 
derful fecundity  to  the  soil,  and  rapid  growth  to  all 
European  vegetables,  were  fatal  to  the  people.  The  exhalations  from 
undrained  marshes,  and  a  vast  continuity  of  forest,  and  the  action 
of  the  sun  upon  a  reeking  vegetable  soil,  produced  intermittent 
fevers,  and  those  other  violent  maladies  so  trying  to  European  con- 
stitutions in  the  uncultivated  countries  of  the  tropics.  The  greater 
part  of  the  colonists  were  either  confined  by  illness,  or  reduced  to 


J3. 


(229) 


230 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


FRIAR  BOVLE  RECEIVES  THE 
NEWS  THAT  HIMSELF  AND  AS- 
SOCIATES ARE  INCLUDED  IN  THE 
ORDER  "  TO  BE  PUT  UPON  AL- 
LOWANCE,"   WITH    IRRITATION. 


great  debility.  The  stock  of  medicines  was  exhausted;  European 
provisions  began  to  fail,  much  having  been  spoiled  and  much 
wasted.  To  avert  an  absolute  famine,  it  was  necessary  to  put  the 
people  upon  allowance ;  this  immediately  caused  loud  murmurs,  in 
which  many  in  office,  who  ought  to  have  supported  Columbus  in 
his  measures  for  the  common  safety,  took  a  leading  part.  Among 
the  number  was  Friar  Boyle,  who  was  irritated  when  informed  that 
himself  and  his  household  would  be  put  on  the  same  allowance  with 
the  rest  of  the  community. 

It  was  necessary,  also,  to  construct  a  mill  immediately,  to  grind 

the  corn,  as  all  the  flour  was  exhausted. 
Most  of  the  workmen,  however,  were  ill, 
and  Columbus  was  obliged  to  put  every 
healthy  person  in  requisition,  not  even 
excepting  cavaliers  and  gentlemen  of 
rank.  As  many  of  the  latter  refused  to 
comply,  he  enforced  their  obedience  by 
compulsory  measures.  This  was  another 
cause  of  the  deep  and  lasting  hostilities 
that  sprang  up  against  him.  He  was  in- 
veighed against,  both  by  the  cavaliers 
in  the  colony  and  their  families  in  Spain; 
as  an  upstart  foreigner,  inflated  with 
sudden  authority,  and  who,  in  pursuit  of 
his  own  profit  and  aggrandizement, 
trampled  upon  the  dignity  of  Spanish 
gentlemen,  and  insulted  the  honor  of 
the  nation. 

The  fate,  in  truth,  of  many  of  the  young 
cavaliers  who  had  come  out  in  this  expedition,  deluded  by  romantic 
dreams,  was  lamentable  in  the  extreme.  Some  of  them,  of  noble  and 
opulent  connections,  had  been  brought  up  in  ease  and  indulgence, 
and  were  little  calculated  to  endure  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a 
new  settlement  in  the  wilderness.  When  they  fell  ill,  their  case  soon 
became  incurable.  They  suffered  under  the  irritation  of  wounded 
pride,  and  the  morbid  melancholy  of  disappointed  hope;  their  sick- 
bed was  destitute  of  the  tender  care  and  soothing  attention  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed,  and  they  sank  into  the  grave  in 
all  the  sullenness  of  despair,  cursing  the  day  that  they  had  left 


OF   COLUMBUS.  23 1 

their  country.  So  strong  an  effect  had  the  untimely  and  dreary 
death  of  these  cavaliers  upon  the  public  mind,  that,  many  years 
afterwards,  when  the  settlement  of  Isabella  was  abandoned,  and  had 
fallen  to  ruins,  its  deserted  streets  were  said  to  be  haunted  by  their 
spectres,  walking  about  in  ancient  Spanish  dresses,  saluting  the 
wayfarer  in  stately  and  mournful  silence,  and  vanishing  on  being 
accosted.  Their  melancholy  story  was  insidiously  made  use  of  by 
the  enemies  of  the  admiral,  for  it  was  said  that  they  had  been 
seduced  from  their  homes  by  his  delusive  promises,  and  sacrificed 
by  him  to  his  private  interests. 

Columbus  was  desirous  of  departing  on  a  voyage  to  explore 
the  coast  of  Cuba,  but  it  was  indispensable,  before  sailing,  to  place 
the  affairs  of  the  island  in  such  a  state  as  to  insure  tranquillity. 
For  this  purpose  he  determined  to  send  all  the  men  that  could  be 
spared  from  the  concerns  of  the  cit}^,  or  the  care  of  the  sick,  into 
the  interior,  where  they  could  subsist  among  the  natives,  and 
become  accustomed  to  their  diet,  while  their  force  would  overawe 
the  machinations  of  Caonabo,  or  any  other  hostile  cacique.  A  lit- 
tle army  was  accordingly  mustered  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  cross- 
bow-men; one  hundred  and  ten  arquebusiers,  sixteen  horsemen,  and 
twenty  officers.  These  were  to  be  commanded  by  Pedro  Margarite, 
while  Ojeda  was  to  succeed  him  in  the  command  of  Fort  St. 
Thomas. 

Columbus  wrote  a  long  and  earnest  letter  of  instructions  to 
Margarite,  desiring  him  to  make  a  military  tour,  and  to  explore  the 
principal  parts  of  the  island ;  but  enjoining  on  him  the  strictest 
discipline  of  his  army,  and  the  most  vigilant  care  to  protect  the 
rights  of  the  Indians,  and  cultivate  their  friendship.  Ojeda  set  off 
at  the  head  of  the  little  army  for  the  fortress ;  on  his  way  he  learnt 
that  three  Spaniards  had  been  robbed  of  their  effects  by  five  Indi- 
ans, at  the  ford  of  one  of  the  rivers  of  the  vega,  and  that  the  delin- 
quents had  been  sheltered  by  their  cacique,  who  had  shared  their 
booty.  Ojeda  was  a  quick  and  impetuous  soldier,  whose  ideas  were 
all  of  a  military  kind.  He  seized  one  of  the  thieves,  ordered  his 
ears  to  be  cut  off  in  the  public  square  of  the  village,  and  sent  the 
cacique,  with  his  son  and  nephew,  in  chains  to  the  admiral,  who, 
after  terrifying  them  with  preparations  for  a  public  execution,  pre- 
tended to  yield  to  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  their  friends,  and  set 
them  at  liberty. 


232 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


Having  thus  distributed  his  forces  about  the  island,  and  taken 
measures  for  its  tranquillity,  Columbus  formed  a  junto  for  its  gov- 
ernment, of  which  his  brother  Don  Diego  was  president,  and  Father 
Boyle,  Pedro  Fernandez  Coronal,  Alonzo  Sanchez  Caravajal,  and 
Juan  de  Luxan,  were  counsellors.  Leaving  in  the  harbor  two  of  his 
largest  ships,  which  drew  too  much  water  to  explore  unknown  coasts 
and  rivers,  he  set  sail  on  the  24th  of  April,  with  the  Nina  or  Santa 
Clara,  the  San  Juan,  and  the  Cordera. 


A    PUBLIC    EXECUTION     IN    THE    15TH    CENTURV 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


CRUISE  OF  COLUMBUS  ALONG  THE  SOUTHERN  COAST  OF  CUBA.   14.94.) 


HE  plan  of  the  present  expedition  of  Columbus  was,  to 
revisit  Cuba  at  the  point  where  he  had  abandoned  it  on 
his  first  voyage,  and  thence  to  explore  it  on  the  southern 
side.  As  has  already  been  observed,  he  supposed  it  to 
be  a  continent,  and  the  extreme  end  of  Asia ;  and  if  so, 
by  following  its  shores  in  the  proposed  direction,  he 
trusted  to  arrive  at  Mangi,  and  Cathay,  and  other  rich 
and  commercial,  though  semi-barbarous  countries,  form- 
ing part  of  the  territories  of  the  Grand  Khan,  as  de- 
scribed by  Mandeville  and  Marco  Polo. 
Having  arrived,  on  the  29th  of  April,  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Cuba,  to  which  in  his  preceding  voyage  he  had  given  the  name  of 
Alpha  and  Omega,  but  which  is  now  known  as  Cape  Maysi,  he 
sailed  along  the  southern  coast,  touching  once  or  twice  in  the  har- 
bors. The  natives  crowded  to  the  shores,  gazing  with  astonishment 
at  the  ships  as  they  glided  gently  along  at  no  great  distance.  They 
held  up  fruits  and  other  provisions,  to  tempt  the  Spaniards  to  land, 
while  others  came  off  in  canoes,  offering  various  refreshments,  not 
in  barter,  but  as  free  gifts.  On  inquiring  of  them  for  gold,  they 
uniformly  pointed  to  the  south,  intimating  that  a  great  island  lay 
in  that  direction,  where  it  was  to  be  found  in  abundance.  On  the 
3d  of  Ma}',  therefore,  Columbus  turned  his  prow  directly  south,  and 
abandoning  the  coast  of  Cuba  for  a  time,  steered  in  quest  of  this 
reported  island.  He  had  not  sailed  many  leagues  before  the  blue 
summits  of  Jamaica  began  to  rise  above  the  horizon.  It  was  two 
days  and  a  night,  however,  before  he  reached  it,  filled  with  admira- 


ls) 


234  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

tion  as  he  gradually  drew'  near,  at  its  vast  extent,  the  beauty  of  its 
mountains,  the  majesty  of  its  forests,  and  the  great  number  of 
villages  which  animated  the  whole  face  of  the  country. 

He  coasted  the  island  from  about  the  center  to  a  port  at  the 
western  end,  which  he  called  the  gulf  of  Buentiempo.  He  found 
the  natives  more  ingenious  as  well  as  more  warlike  than  those  of 
Cuba  and  Hayti.  Their  canoes  were  constructed  with  more  art, 
and  ornamented  at  the  bow  and  stern  with  carving  and  painting. 
Many  were  of  great  size,  though  formed  of  the  hollow  trunks  of 
single  trees,  often  a  species  of  the  mahogany.  Columbus  measured 
one  which  proved  to  be  ninety-six  feet  long  and  eight  broad;  it 
was  hollowed  out  of  one  of  those  magnificent  trees  which  rise  like 
verdant  towers  amidst  the  rich  forests  of  the  tropics.  Every  cacique 
possessed  a  large  canoe  of  the  kind,  which  he  seemed  to  regard  as 
his  galley  of  state.  The  Spaniards  at  first  were  treated  with  hos- 
tility, and  were  compelled  to  skirmish  with  the  natives,  but  a 
friendly  intercourse  succeeded. 

Columbus  being  disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  finding  gold  in 
Jamaica,  and  the  breeze  being  fair  for  Cuba,  he  determined  to  return 
thither.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  sail,  a  young  Indian  came  off  to 
the  ship,  and  begged  that  the  Spaniards  would  take  him  with  them 
to  their  country.  He  was  followed  by  his  relatives  and  friends, 
supplicating  him  to  abandon  his  purpose.  For  some  time  he  was 
distracted  between  concern  for  their  distress,  and  an  ardent  desire 
to  see  the  home  of  the  wonderful  strangers.  Curiosity,  and  the 
youthful  propensity  to  rove,  at  length  prevailed ;  he  tore  himself 
from  the  embraces  of  his  friends,  and  took  refuge  in  a  secret  part 
of  the  ship,  from  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  his  sisters.  Touched  by 
this  scene  of  natural  affection,  and  pleased  with  the  confiding  spirit 
of  the  youth,  Columbus  ordered  that  he  should  be  treated  with  es- 
pecial kindness. 

It  would  have  been  interesting  to  have  known  something  more 
of  this  curious  savage,  and  of  the  effect  which  the  first  sight  of  the 
land  of  the  white  men  had  upon  his  mind,  whether  it  equaled  his 
hopes ;  or  whether,  as  is  usual  with  savages,  he  pined,  amidst  the 
splendors  of  cities,  for  his  native  forests;  and  whether  he  ever  re- 
turned to  the  arms  of  his  family.  The  Spanish  voyagers,  however, 
were  indifferent  to  these  matters  ;  no  further  mention  is  made  in 
their  narratives  of  this  youthful  adventurer. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


235 


Having  steered  again  for  Cuba,  Columbus,  on  the  18th  of  May, 
arrived  at  a  great  cape,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cabo  de  la 
Cruz,  which  it  still  retains.  Coasting  to  the  west,  he  soon  got  en- 
tangled in  a  complete  labyrinth  of  small  islands  and  keys ;  some  of 
them  were  low,  naked,  and  sandy,  others  covered  with  verdure,  and 
others  tufted  with  lofty  and  beautiful  forests.  To  this  archipelago, 
which  extended  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and,  in  a  manner, 
enamelled  the  face  of  the  ocean  with  variegated  verdure,  he  gave 
the  name  of  the  Queen's  Garden.  He  persuaded 
himself  that  these  were  the  islands  mentioned 
by  Sir  John  Mandeville,  and  Marco  Polo,  as  fring- 
ing the  coast  of  Asia;  if  so,  he  must  soon  arrive 
at  the  dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan. 

There  was  much  in  the  character  of  the 
scenery  to  favor  the  idea.  As  the  ships  glided 
along  the  smooth  and  glassy  channels  which 
separated  the  islands,  the  magnificence  of  their 
vegetation,  the  soft  odors  wafted  from  flowers, 
and  blossoms,  and  aromatic  shrubs,  the  splen- 
did plumage  of  scarlet  cranes,  flamingoes,  and 
other  tropical  birds,  and  the  gaudy  clouds  of 
butterflies,  all  resembled  what  is  described  of 
oriental  climes. 

Emerging  from  the  labyrinth  of  the  Queen's 
Garden,  Columbus  pursued  his  voyage  with  a 
prosperous  breeze  along  that  part  of  the 
southern  side  of  Cuba,  where,  for  nearly  thirty- 
five  leagues,  the  navigation  is  free  from  banks 
and  islands ;  to  his  left  was  the  broad  and  open 
sea,  whose  dark-blue  color  gave  token  of  ample 
depth  ;  to  his  right  extended  a  richly-wooded 
country,  called  Ornofay,  with  noble  mountains, 
frequent  streams,  and  numerous  villages.  The  appearance  of 
the  ships  spread  wonder  and  jo}^  along  the  coast.  The  na- 
tives came  off  swimming,  or  in  canoes,  to  offer  fruits  and  other 
presents.  After  the  usual  evening  shower,  when  the  breeze 
blew  from  the  shore,  and  brought  off  the  sweetness  of  the  land,  it 
bore  with  it  also  the  distant  songs  of  the  natives,  and  the  sound  of 
their  rude  music,  as  they  were  probably  celebrating,  with  their  na- 


FIRST    MAP    OF    CUB* 


236 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


tional  chants  and  dances,  the  arrival  of  these  wonderful  strangers 
011  their  coasts. 

Animated  by  the  delusions  of  his  fancy,  Columbus  continued 
to  follow  up  this  supposed  continent  of  Asia ;  plunging  into  another 
wilderness  of  keys  and  islets  towards  the  western  end  of  Cuba,  and 
exploring  that  perplexed  and  lonely  coast,  whose  intricate  channels 
are  seldom  visited,  even  at  the  present  day,  except  by  the  lurking 
bark  of  the  smuggler  and  the  pirate. 

In  this  navigation  he  had  to  contend  with  almost  incredible 
difficulties  and  perils ;  his  vessels  having  to  be  warped  through 
narrow  and  shallow  passages,  where  they  frequently  ran  aground. 
He  was  encouraged  to  proceed  by  information  which  he  received, 
or  fancied  he  received,  from  the  natives,  concerning  a  country 
farther  on  called  Mangon,  where  the  people  wore  clothing,  and  which 
he  supposed  must  be  Mangi,  the  rich  Asiatic  province  described 
by  Marco  Polo.  He  also  understood  from  them,  that  among  the 
mountains  to  the  west  there  was  a  powerful  king,  who  reigned 
in  great  state  over  many  populous  provinces  ;  that  he  wore  a 
white  garment  which  swept  the  ground,  that  he  was  called  a 
saint,  and  never  spoke,  but  communicated  his  orders  to  his 
subjects  by  signs.  In  all  this  we  see  the  busy  imagination 
of  Columbus  interpreting  the  imperfectly  understood  com- 
munications of  the  Indians  into  unison  with  his  precon- 
ceived ideas.  This  fancied  king  with  a  saintly  title  was 
probably  conjured  up  in  his  mind  by  some  descriptions  which 
he  thought  accorded  with  what  he  had  read  of  that  mysterious 
potentate  Prester  John,  who  had  long  figured,  sometimes  as  a 
monarch,  sometimes  as  a  priest,  in  the  narrations  of  all 
eastern  travelers.     His  crews  seem  to  have  partaken  of  his 

delusion.  One  day  a  party  being 
sent  on  shore  for  wood  and  water, 
while  they  were  employed  in  cutting 
wood  and  filling  their  water  casks, 
an  archer  strayed  into  the  forest, 
with  his  crossbow,  in  search  of  game, 
but  soon  returned,  flying  in  breath- 
less terror.  He  declared  that  he 
had  seen  through  an  opening  glade 
a  man  dressed  in  long  white  robes, 


THE    EXPEDITION     IN    QUEST    OF     THE     INHABITANTS    OF    MANGON. 


THE    EMPEROR     MONTEZUMA. 

THE  POWERFUL  KING  MENTIONED  TO  COLUMBUS   BV  THE  NATIVES  OF  CUBA,  AS  THE  POTENTATE  WHO  REIGNED  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS  TO  THE  WEST. 

THE    PICTURE    RECONSTRUCTED    FROM    THE    DATA    FURNISHED    BY   THE    RAMIREZ    MSS.    AND   CLAVIGERO'S    RESEARCH. 


(237) 


238  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

followed  by  two  others  in  white  tunics  reaching  to  their  knees,  and 
that  they  had  complexions  as  fair  as  Europeans. 

Columbus  was  rejoiced  at  this  intelligence,  hoping  that  he  had 
found  the  clothed  inhabitants  of  Mangon.  Two  parties  were  des- 
patched, well  armed,  in  quest  of  these  people  in  white ;  the  first  re- 
turned unsuccessful ;  the  other  brought  word  of  having  tracked  the 
footprints  of  some  large  animal  with  claws,  supposed  by  them  to 
have  been  either  a  lion  or  a  griffin ;  but  which  most  probably  was 
an  alligator.  Dismayed  at  the  sight,  they  hastened  back  to  the  sea- 
side. As  no  tribe  of  Indians  wearing  clothing  was  ever  discovered 
in  Cuba,  it  is  probable  the  men  in  white  were  nothing  else  than  a 
flock  of  cranes,  seen  by  the  wandering  archer.  These  birds,  like 
the  flamingoes,  feed  in  company,  with  one  stationed  at  a  distance 
as  a  sentinel.  When  seen  through  an  opening  of  the  woodlands, 
standing  in  rows  iu  a  shallow  glassy  pool,  their  height  and  erect- 
ness  give  them,  at  first  glance,  the  semblance  of  human  figures. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


RETURN   VOYAGE.     (1494.) 


[OLUMBUS  now  hoped,  by  contin- 
uing on,  to  arrive  ultimately  at 
the  Aura  Chersonesus*  of  the 
ancients;  doubling  which,  he 
might  make  his  way  to  the  Red 
Sea,  thence  to  Joppa,  and  so  by 
the  Mediterranean  to  Spain;  or 
might  circumnavigate  Africa, 
pass  triumphantly  by  the  Portu- 
guese as  they  were  groping  along 
the  coast  of  Guinea,  and  after  having 
thus  circumnavigated  the  globe,  furl 
his  adventurous  sails  at  the  Pillars  of 
j  Hercules,f  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  the 
ancient  world.  But,  though  his  fel- 
low-voyagers shared  his  opinion  that 
they  were  coasting  the  continent 
of  Asia,  they  were  far  from  sharing  his  enthusiasm,  and  shrunk 
from  the  increasing  perils  of  the  voyage.  The  ships  were  strained 
and  crazed  by  frequently  running  aground.  The  cables  and  rigging 
were  much  worn,  the  provisions  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  crews 
worn  out  and  disheartened  by  incessant  labor.     The  admiral,  there- 


THE  CAPfllOLO  PORTRAIT  OF  COLUMBUS. 

FROM  AN  ITALIAN  WORK   PUBLISHED  IN  ROME 

IN  1598. 


*The  golden   Peninsula. 
Malacca. 


The   ancients  understood    by  that    the    modern    island   of 


t  Pillars  of  Hercules.     The  God  Hercules  is  supposed  to'have  erected  columns  as  boun- 
dary marks  to  indicate  the  terminal  points  of  his  travels. 


(210I 


240 


THE    LIKE    AND    VOYAGES 


fore,  was  finally  persuaded  to  abandon  all  further  prosecution  of 
the  voyage;  but,  before  he  turned  back,  he  obliged  the  whole  of 
the  officers  and  seamen  to  sign  a  deposition,  declaring  their  perfect 
conviction  that  Cuba  was  a  continent,  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  India.  This  singular  instrument  was  signed  near  that  deep  bay 
called  by  some  the  bay  of  Philipina,  by  others,  of  Cortes.  At  this 
very  time,  a  ship-boy  from  the  mast-head  might  have  overlooked 
the  group  of  islands  to  the   south,  and  have  beheld  the  open  sea 

beyond.  Had  Columbus  continued 
on  for  two  or  three  days  longer, 
he  would  have  passed  round  the 
extremity  of  Cuba ;  his  illusion 
would  have  been  dispelled,  and 
an  entirely  different  course  might 
have  been  given  to  his  subsequent 
discoveries. 

Returning  now  towards  the  east, 
the  crews  suffered  excessively 
from  fatigue,  and  a  scarcity  of 
provisions.  At  length,  on  the 
7th  of  July,  they  anchored  at  the 
mouth  of  a  fine  river,  in  a  genial 
and  abundant  country,  which  the}' 
had  previously  visited,  as  they 
had  come  down  along  the  coast. 
Here  the  natives  brought  them 
provisions  of  various  kinds.  It 
was  a  custom  with  Columbus  to 
erect  crosses  in  all  remarkable 
places,  to  denote  the  discovery  of 
the  country,  and  its  subjugation  to  the  true  faith.  This  was  done  on 
the  banks  of  this  river,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  with  great  ceremony. 
Columbus  was  attended  by  the  cacique,  and  by  his  principal  favor- 
ite, a  venerable  Indian,  fourscore  years  of  age.  While  mass  was 
performed  in  a  stately  grove,  the  natives  looked  on  with  awe  and 
reverence.  When  it  was  ended,  the  old  man  of  fourscore  made  a 
speech  to  Columbus  in  the  Indian  manner.  "I  am  told,"  said  he, 
"  that  thou  hast  lately  come  to  these  lands  with  a  mighty  force,  and 


r~  ismmm  »sw" 


ADDRESSES   COLUMBUS   ON    THE 


(241) 


OF   COLUMBUS.  243 

hast  subdued  many  countries,  spreading  great  fear  among  the  peo- 
ple; but  be  not  therefore  vain-glorious.  Know  that,  according  to 
our  belief,  the  souls  of  men  have  two  journeys  to  perform  after 
they  have  departed  from  the  body ;  one  to  a  place  dismal,  foul,  and 
covered  with  darkness,  prepared  for  such  as  have  been  unjust  and 
cruel  to  their  fellow-men;  the  other  full  of  delight,  for  such  as 
have  promoted  peace  on  earth.  If,  then,  thou  art  mortal,  and  dost 
expect  to  die,  beware  that  thou  hurt  no  man  wrongfully,  neither  do 
harm  to  those  who  have  done  no  harm  to  thee." 

When  this  speech  was  explained  to  Columbus  by  his  inter- 
preter, he  was  greatly  moved  by  the  simple  eloquence  of  this  untu- 
tored savage,  and  rejoiced  to  hear  his  doctrine  of  a  future  state  of 
the  soul,  having  supposed  that  no  belief  of  the  kind  existed  among 
the  inhabitants  of  these  countries.  He  assured  the  old  man  that 
he  had  been  sent  by  his  sovereigns  to  teach  them  the  true  religion, 
to  protect  them  from  harm,  and  to  subdue  their  enemies  the  Car- 
ibs.  The  venerable  Indian  was  exceedingly  astonished  to  learn  that 
the  admiral,  whom  he  had  considered  so  great  and  powerful,  was 
yet  but  a  subject ;  and  when  he  was  told  by  the  interpreter  who  had 
been  in  Spain,  of  the  grandeur  of  the  Spanish  monarchs,  and  of 
the  wonders  of  their  kingdom,  a  sudden  desire  seized  hirn  to  em- 
bark with  the  admiral,  and  accompany  him  to  see  this  wonderful 
country,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  the  tears  and  remonstrances  of 
his  wife  and  children  could  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose. 

After  leaving  this  river,  to  which,  from  the  solemn  mass  per- 
formed on  its  banks,  Columbus  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  la  Misa, 
he  continued  on  to  Cape  Cruz,  and  then  stood  over  to  Jamaica,  to 
complete  the  circumnavigation  of  that  island.  For  nearly  a  month 
he  continued  beating  to  the  eastward  along  its  southern  coast,  com- 
ing to  anchor  every  evening  under  the  land,  and  making  but  slow 
progress.  Anchoring  one  evening  in  a  great  bay,  he  was  visited  by 
a  cacique  with  a  numerous  train,  who  remained  until  a  late  hour 
conversing  with  the  Lucayan  interpreter,  who  had  been  in  Spain, 
about  the  Spaniards  and  their  country,  and  their  prowess  in  van- 
quishing the  Caribs. 

On  the  following  morning,  when  the  ships  were  under  weigh, 
they  beheld  three  canoes  issuing  from  among  the  islands  of  the 
bay.  The  center  one  was  large,  and  handsomely  carved  and  painted. 
In  it  were  seated  the  cacique  and  his  family,  consisting  of  two  daugh- 


244 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


PLUS    ULTRA. 

THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA. 

AN    ALLEGORV    IN    MARBLE,    REPRESENTING 

THE     SPANISH    LION   TAKING    POSSESSION    OF 

AMERICA  AND    BRINGING    IT    UNDER   THE 

DOMINION    OF   THE   CROSS. 

ESCURIAL,   MADRID. 


ters,  young  and  beautiful,  two  sons,  and  five  brothers.  They  were 
all  arrayed  in  their  jewels,  and  attended  by  the  officers  of  the  chief- 
tain, decorated  with  plumes  and  mantles  of  variegated  feathers. 
The  standard-bearer  stood  in  the  prow  with  a  fluttering  white  ban- 
ner, while  other  Indians,  fancifully  painted,  beat  upon  tabors,  or 
sounded  trumpets  of  fine  black  wood  ingeniously  carved.  The  ca- 
cique, entering  on  board  of  the  ship,  distributed  presents  among 
the  crew,  and  approaching  the  admiral,  "I  have  heard,"  said  he, 
"  of  the  irresistible  power  of  thy  sovereigns,  and  of  the  many  na- 
tions thou  hast  subdued  in  their  name.  Thou  hast  destroyed  the 
dwellings  of  the  Caribs,  slaying  their  warriors,  and  carrying  their 
wives  and  children  into  captivity.  All  the  islands  are  in 
dread  of  thee,  for  who  can  withstand  thee,  now  that  thou 
knowest  the  secrets  of  the  land,  and  the  weakness  of  the 
people  ?  Rather,  therefore,  than  thou  shouldst  take  away 
my  dominions,  I  will  embark  with  all  my  household  in 
thy  ships,  and  will  go  to  render  homage  to  thy  king  and 
queen,  and  behold  thy  country,  of  which  I  hear  such 
wonders." 

When  this  speech  was  interpreted  to  Columbus,  and 
he  beheld  the  wife,  the  sons,  and  daughters  of  the  cacique, 
and  considered  to  what  ills  they  they  would  be  exposed, 
he  was  touched  with  compassion,  and  determined  not  to 
take  them  from  their  native  land.  He  received  the  cacique 
under  his  protection,  as  a  vassal  of  his  sovereigns,  but 
informed  him  that  he  had  many  lands  yet  to  visit,  before 
he  should  return  to  his  own  country.  He  dismissed 
him,  therefore,  for  the  present,  promising  that  at  some 
future  time  he  would  gratify  his  wishes. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  Columbus  lost  sight  of  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Jamaica,  and  on  the  following  day  made  that  long 
peninsula  of  Hayti,  since  called  Cape  Tiburon,  but  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  San  Miguel.  He  coasted  the  whole  of  the  southern 
side  of  the  island,  and  had  to  take  refuge  in  the  channel  of  Saona, 
from  a  violent  storm  which  raged  for  several  days,  during  which 
time  he  suffered  great  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  the  other  vessels, 
which  remained  at  sea,  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  tempest.  Being 
rejoined  by  them,  and  the  weather  having  moderated,  he  set  sail 
eastward   with   the  intention  of   completing  the   discovery  of  the 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


245 


Caribbee  Islands,  but  his  physical  strength  did  not  correspond  to 
the  efforts  of  his  spirit.  The  extraordinary  fatigues  which  he  had 
suffered,  both  in  mind  and  body,  during  this  harassing  voyage, 
which  had  lasted  for  five  months,  had  secretly  preyed  upon  his 
health.  He  had  shared  in  all  the  hardships  and  privations  of  the 
common  seamen,  and  he  had  cares  and  trials  from  which  they  were 
exempt.  When  the  sailor,  worn  out  with  the  labors  of  his  watch, 
slept  soundly,  in  spite  of  the  howling  of  the  storms,  the  anxious 
commander  maintained  his  painful  vigil,  through  long  sleepless 
nights,  amidst  the  pelting  of  the  tempest  and  the  drenching  surges 
of  the  sea,  for  the  safety  of  the  ships  depended  upon  his  watchful- 
ness. During  a  great  part  of  the  voyage,  he  had  been  excited  by 
the  hope  of  soon  arriving  at  the  known  parts  of  India,  he  was 
afterwards  stimulated  by  a  conflict  with  hardships  and  perils,  as  he 
made  his  way  back  against  contrary  winds  and  currents.  The  mo- 
ment he  was  relieved  from  all  solicitude,  and  found  himself  in  a 
tranquil  sea,  which  he  had  already  explored,  the  excitement  sud- 
denly ceased,  and  mind  and  body  sunk  exhausted  by  almost  super- 
human exertions.  He  fell  into  a  deep  lethargy,  resembling  death 
itself.  His  crew  feared  that  death  was  really  at  hand.  They  aban- 
doned, therefore,  all  farther  prosecution  of  the  voyage,  and  spread- 
ing their  sails  to  a  favorable  breeze  from  the  east,  bore  Columbus 
back,  in  a  state  of  complete  insensibility,  to  the  harbor  of  Isabella. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


EVENTS   IN  THE    ISLAND  OF   HISPANIOLA.      INSURRECTIONS   OF  THE   NATIVES.      EXPEDITION    OF 

OJEDA  AGAINST  CAONABO.     (1494.) 


JOYFUL  and  heartfelt  sur- 
prise awaited  Columbus 
on  his  arrival,  in  finding, 
at  his  bedside,  his 
brother  Bartholomew, 
the  companion  of  his 
youth,  his  zealous  co- 
adjutor, and,  in  a  man- 
ner, his  second  self, 
from  whom  he  had  been 
separated  for  several 
fears.  It  will  be  recollect- 
[,  that  about  the  time  of  the 
admiral's  departure  for  Portugal, 
he  commissioned  Bartholomew 
to  repair  to  England,  and  offer  his 
p  roj  ec  t  of  discovery  x*5=^;'  to  Henry  the  Seventh.  Various 
circumstances  occurred  to  delay  this  application.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  that,  in  the  interim,  he  accompanied  Bartholomew  Diaz 
in  that  celebrated  voyage,  in  the  course  of  which  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  was  discovered.  On  his  way  to  England,  also,  Bartholomew 
Columbus  was  captured  by  a  corsair,  and  reduced  to  extreme  pov- 
erty. It  is  but  justice  to  the  memory  of  Henry  the  Seventh  to  say, 
that  when,  after  a  lapse  of  several  years,  the  proposition  was  event- 
ually made  to  him,  it  met  with  a  more  prompt  attention  than  it  had 
received   from   any  other  sovereign.      An  agreement  was   actually 


(246) 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


247 


made  with  Bartholomew,  for  the  prosecution  of  the  enterprise,  and 
the  latter  departed  for  Spain  in  search  of  his  brother.  On  reach- 
ing Paris,  he  received  intelligence  that  the  discovery  was 
already  made,  and  that  his  brother  was  actually  at  the 
Spanish  court,  enjoying  his  triumph,  and  pre- 
paring to  sail  on  a  second  expedition. 
He  hastened  to  rejoin  him,  and  was  fur- 
nished by  the  French  monarch,  Charles 
the  Eighth,  with  a  hundred  crowns  to  de- 
fray the  expenses  of  the  journey.  He 
reached  Seville  just  as  his  brother  had 
sailed ;  but  being  an  accomplished  navi- 


gator,   the    sovereigns    gave    him  the     /^PI^M 
command    of    three    ships,    freighted     \|S&^n 


with  supplies  for  the    colony,  and    sent 
him   to  aid   his  brother  in  his   enterprises. 
He    again    arrived    too    late,    reaching    the 
settlement  of  Isabella  just  after  the  depart- 
ure of  the  admiral  for  the  coast  of  Cuba. 

The  sight  of  this  brother  was  an  inex- 
pressible relief  to  Columbus,  disabled  as  he 
was  by  sickness,  overwhelmed  with  cares,  and 
surrounded  by  strangers.  His  chief  dependence  had  hitherto  been 
upon  his  brother,  Don  Diego ;  but  the  latter  was  of  a  mild  and 
peaceable  disposition,  with  an  inclination  for.  a  clerical  life,  and  was 
but  little  fitted  to  manage  the  affairs  of  a  factious  colony.  Bar- 
tholomew was  of  a  different  and  more  efficient  character.  He  was 
prompt,  active,  decided,  and  of  a  fearless  spirit ;  whatever  he  deter- 
mined he  carried  into  instant  execution,  without  regard 
to  difficulty  or  danger.  His  person  corresponded  to 
mind  ;  it  was  tall,  muscular,  vigorous,  and  commanc 
ing.  He  had  an  air  of  great  authority,  but  some- 
what stern,  wanting  that  sweetness  and  benignity 
which  tempered  the  authoritative  demeanor  of 
the  admiral.  Indeed,  there  was  a  certain  asperity 
in  his  temper,  and  a  dryness  and  abruptness  in 
his  manners,  which  made  him  many  enemies ; 
yet,  notwithstanding  these  external  defects,  he 
was  of  a  generous  disposition,  free  from  arrogance 
or  malevolence,  and  as  placable  as  he  was  brave. 

H 


GEAL    OF    CHARLES   VIII. 


248  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

He  was  a  thorough  seaman,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  having 
been  formed,  in  a  great  measure,  under  the  eye  of  the  admiral,  to 
whom  he  was  but  little  inferior  in  science.  He  was  acquainted  with 
Latin,  but  does  not  appear  to  have  been  highly  educated ;  his  knowl- 
edge, like  that  of  his  brother,  being  chiefly  derived  from  a  long 
course  of  varied  experience  and  attentive  observation,  aided  by  the 
studies  of  maturer  years.  Equally  vigorous  and  penetrating  in  in- 
tellect with  the  admiral,  but  less  enthusiastic  in  spirit  and  soaring 
in  imagination,  and  with  less  simplicity  of  heart,  he  surpassed  him 
in  the  adroit  management  of  business,  was  more  attentive  to  pecu- 
niary interests,  and  had  more  of  that  worldly  wisdom  which  is  so 
important  in  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life.  His  genius  might  never 
have  excited  him  to  the  sublime  speculation  which  led  to  the  dis- 
covery of  a  world,  but  his  practical  sagacity  was  calculated  to  turn 
that  discovery  to  more  advantage. 

Anxious  to  relieve  himself  from  the  pressure  of  public  busi- 
ness, during  his  present  malady,  Columbus  immediately  invested 
his  brother  with  the  title  and  authority  of  adelantado,*  an  office 
equivalent  to  that  of  lieutenant-governor.  He  felt  the  importance 
of  his  assistance  in  the  present  critical  state  of  the  colony;  for, 
during  the  few  months  that  he  had  been  absent,  the  whole  island 
had  become  a  scene  of  violence  and  discord.  A  brief  retrospect  is 
here  necessary,  to  explain  the  cause  of  this  confusion. 

Pedro  Margarite,  to  whom  Columbus,  on  his  departure,  had 
given  orders  to  make  a  military  tour  of  the  island,  set  forth  on  his 
expedition  with  the  greater  part  of  the  forces,  leaving  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda  in  command  of  Fort  St.  Thomas.  Instead,  however,  of  pro- 
ceeding on  his  tour,  Margarite  lingered  among  the  populous  and 
hospitable  villages  of  the  vega,  where  he  and  his  soldiery,  by  their 
licentious  and  oppressive  conduct,  soon  roused  the  indignation  and 
hatred  of  the  natives.  Tidings  of  their  excesses  reached  Don  Diego 
Columbus,  who,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  council,  wrote  to  Mar- 
garite, reprehending  his  conduct,  and  ordering  him  to  depart  on 
his  tour.  Margarite  replied  in  a  haughty  and  arrogant  tone,  pre- 
tending to  consider  himself  independent  in  his  command,  and  above 
all  responsibility  to  Don  Diego  or  his  council.  He  was  supported 
in    his   tone   of  defiance    by  a   kind   of  aristocratical    party    com- 

*  Adelantado,  formerly  governor  of  a  province ;  now  a  title  of  honor  of  some  Spanish 
families. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  249 

posed  of  the  idle  cavaliers  of  the  colony,  who  had  been  deeply  wound- 
ed in  the  pundonor,  the  proud  punctilio  so  jealously  guarded  by  a 
Spaniard,  and  affected  to  look  down  with  contempt  upon  the  newly- 
coined  nobility  of  Don  Diego,  and  to  consider  Columbus  and  his 
brothers  mere  mercenary  and  upstart  foreigners.  In  addition  to 
these  partisans,  Margarite  had  a  powerful  ally  in  his  fellow-coun- 
tryman, Friar  Boyle,  the  apostolical  vicar  for  the  new  world,  an 
intriguing  man,  who  had  conceived  a  violent  hostility  against  the 
admiral,  and  had  become  disgusted  with  his  mission  to  the  wilder- 
ness. A  cabal  was  soon  formed  of  most  of  those  who  were  disaf- 
fected to  the  admiral,  and  discontented  with  their  abode  in  the 
colony.  Margarite  and  Friar  Boyle  acted  as  if  possessed  of  para- 
mount authority ;  and,  without  consulting  Don  Diego  or  the  council, 
took  possession  of  certain  ships  in  the  harbor,  and  set  sail  for  Spain, 
with  their  adherents.  They  were  both  favorites  of  the  king,  and 
deemed  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  justify  their  abandonment  of 
their  military  and  religious  commands,  by  a  pretended  zeal  for  the 
public  good,  and  a  desire  to  represent  to  the  sovereigns  the  disas- 
trous state  of  the  colony,  and  the  tyranny  and  oppression  of  Co- 
lumbus and  his  brothers.  Thus  the  first  general  and  apostle  of  the 
new  world  set  the  flagrant  example  of  unauthorized  abandonment 
of  their  posts. 

The  departure  of  Margarite  left  the  army  without  a  head ;  the 
soldiers  now  roved  about  in  bands,  or  singly,  according  to  their 
caprice,  indulging  in  all  kinds  of  excesses.  The  natives,  indignant 
at  having  their  hospitality  thus  requited,  refused  any  longer  to 
furnish  them  with  food  ;  the  Spaniards,  therefore,  seized  upon  pro- 
visions wherever  they  could  be  found,  committing,  at  the  same  time, 
many  acts  of  wanton  violence.  At  length  the  Indians  were  roused 
to  resentment,  and,  from  confiding  and  hospitable  hosts,  were  con- 
verted into  vindictive  enemies.  They  slew  the  Spaniards  wherever 
they  could  surprise  them  singly  or  in  small  parties ;  and  Guati- 
guana,  cacique  of  a  large  town  on  the  Grand  River,  put  to  death 
ten  soldiers  who  were  quartered  in  his  town,  set  fire  to  a  house  in 
which  forty  sick  Spaniards  were  lodged,  and  even  held  a  small  fort- 
ress called  Magdalena,  recently  built  iri  the  vega,  in  a  state  of  siege, 
insomuch,  that  the  commander  had  to  shut  himself  up  within  its 
walls,  until  relief  should  arrive  from  the  settlement. 

The  most  formidable  enemy  of  the  Spaniards  was  Caonabo,  the 


250 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


Carib  cacique  of  the  mountains.  He  had  natural  talents  for  war, 
great  sagacity,  a  proud  and  daring  spirit  to  urge  him  on,  three  val- 
iant brothers  to  assist  him,  and  a  numerous  tribe  at  his  command. 
He  had  been  enraged  at  seeing  the  fortress  of  St.  Thomas  erected 
in  the  very  center  of  his  dominions  ;  and  finding  by  his  spies  that 
the  garrison  was  reduced  to  but  fifty  men,  and  the  army  of  Marga- 
rite  dismembered,  he  thought  the  time  had  arrived  to  strike  a  sig- 
nal blow,  and  to  repeat  the  horrors  which  he  had  wreaked  upon  La 
Navidad. 

The  wily  cacique,  however,  had  a  different  kind  of  an  enemy 
to  deal  with  in  the  commander  of  St.  Thomas.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda 
deserves  particular  notice  as  a  specimen  of  the  singular  characters 
which  arose  among  the  Spanish  discoverers.  He  had  been  schooled 
in  Moorish  warfare,  and  of  course  versed  in  all  kinds  of  military 
stratagems.  Naturally  of  a  rash  and  fiery  spirit,  his  courage  was 
heightened  by  superstition.  Having  never  received  a  wound  in  his 
numerous  quarrels  and  encounters,  he  considered  himself  under 
the  special  protection  of  the  holy  Virgin,  and  that  no  weapon  had 
power  to  harm  him.  He  had  a  small  Flemish  painting  of  the  Vir- 
gin, which  he  carried  constantly  with  him  ;  in  his  marches  he  bore 
it  in  his  knapsack,  and  would  often  take  it  out,  fix  it  against  a  tree, 
and  address  his  prayers  to  his  military  patroness.  In  a  word,  he 
swore  by  the  Virgin ;  he  invoked  the  Virgin  either  in  brawl  or  bat- 
tle ;  and  under  favor  of  the  Virgin  he  was  ready  for  any  enterprise 
or  adventure.  Such  was  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  bigoted  in  devotion, 
reckless  in  life,  fearless  in  spirit,  like  many  of  the  roving  Spanish 
cavaliers  of  those  days. 

Having  reconnoitered  the  fortress  of  St.  Thomas,  Cao- 
nabo  assembled  ten  thousand  warriors,  armed 
with  war  clubs,  bows  and  arrows,  and  lances, 
hardened  in  the  fire,  and  led  them  secretly 
through  the  forests,  thinking  to  surprise 
Ojeda;  but  found  him  warily  drawn  up  within 
his  fortress,  which  was  built  upon  a  hill,  and 
nearly  surrounded  bv  a  river.  Caonabo  then 
held  the  fortress  in  siege  for  thirty  days,  and 
reduced  it  to  great  distress.  He  lost  many  of 
his  bravest  warriors,  however,  by  the  impetu- 
ous sallies  of  Ojeda;  others  grew  weary  of  the 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


251 


siege  and  returned  home.     He  at  length  relinquished  the  attempt, 
and  retired,  filled  with  admiration  of  the  prowess  of  Ojeda. 

The  restless  chieftain  now  endeavored  to  form  a  league  of  the 
principal  caciques  of  the  island  to  unite  their  forces,  surprise  the 
settlement  of  Isabella,  and  massacre  the  Spaniards  wherever  they 
could   be  found.     To  explain  this   combination,  it  is  necessary  to 
state  the  internal  distribution  of  the  island.     It  was  divided  into 
five  domains,  each  governed  by  a  sovereign  cacique  of  absolute  and 
hereditary  powers,  having  many  inferior  caciques  tributary  to  him. 
The  most  important  domain  comprised  the  middle  part  of  the  royal 
vega,  and  was  governed    by  Guarionex.     The  second  was  Marion, 
under  the  sway  of  Guacanagari,  on  whose  coast  Columbus  had  been 
wrecked.     The  third  was  Maguana,  which  included  the  gold  mines 
of  Cibao,   and  was  under  the  sway  of  Caonabo.     The  fourth  was 
Xaragua,  at  the  western  end  of  the 
island,  the  most    populous  and   ex- 
tensive of  all.     The   sovereign  was 
named  Behechio.     The  fifth  domain 
was  Higuey,  and  occupied  the  whole 
eastern  part  of  the  island,  but   had 
not    as    yet    been    visited    by     the 
Spaniards.    The  name  of  the  cacique 
was  Cotabanama. 

Three    of    these    sovereign    ca- 
ciques    readily    entered      into     the 


C*rhYiJiifllupCW 


league  with  Caonabo,  for  the  profligate  conduct  of  the  Spaniards 
had  inspired  hostility  even  in  remote  parts  of  the  island,  which  had 
never  been  visited  by  them.  The  league,  however,  met  with  unex- 
pected opposition  from  the  fifth  cacique,  Guacanagari.  He  not 
merely  refused  to  join  the  conspiracy,  but  entertained  a  hundred 
Spaniards  in  his  territory,  supplying  all  their' wants  with  his  ac- 
customed generosity.  This  drew  upon  him  the  odium  and  hostility 
of  his  fellow-caciques,  who  inflicted  on  him  various  injuries  and 
indignities.  Behechio  killed  one  of  his  wives,  and  Caonabo  carried 
another  away  captive.  Nothing,  however,  could  shake  the  devotion 
of  Guacanagari  to  the  Spaniards ;  and  as  his  dominions  lay  immedi- 
ately adjacent  to  the  settlement,  his  refusal  to  join  in  the  conspir- 
acy prevented  it  from  being  immediately  carried  into  effect. 

Such  was   the  critical  state  to  which  the  affairs  of  the  island 


252  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

had  been  reduced,  and  such  the  bitter  hostility  engendered  among 
its  kind  and  gentle  inhabitants,  during  the  absence  of  Columbus. 
Immediately  on  his  return,  and  while  he  was  yet  confined  to  his 
bed,  Guacanagari  visited  him,  and  revealed  to  him  all  the  designs 
of  the  confederate  caciques,  offering  to  lead  his  subjects  to  the  field, 
and  to  fight  by  the  side  of  the  Spaniards.  Columbus  had  always 
retained  a  deep  sense  of  the  ancient  kindness  of  Guacanagari,  and 
was  rejoiced  to  have  all  suspicion  of  his  good  faith  thus  effect- 
ually dispelled.  Their  former  amicable  intercourse  was  renewed, 
and  the  chieftain  ever  continued  to  evince  an  affectionate  reverence 
for  the  admiral. 

Columbus  considered  the  confederacy  of  the  caciques  as  but 
imperfectly  formed,  and  trusted  that,  from  their  want  of  skill  and 
experience  in  warfare,  their  plans  might  easily  be  disconcerted. 
He  was  too  ill  to  take  the  field  in  person,  his  brother  Diego  was 
not  of  a  military  character,  and  Bartholomew  was  yet  a  stranger 
among  the  Spaniards,  and  regarded  with  jealousy.  He  determined, 
therefore,  to  proceed  against  the  Indians  in  detail,  attacking  some, 
conciliating  others,  and  securing  certain  of  the  most  formidable 
by  stratagem. 

A  small  force  was  accordingly  sent  to  relieve  Fort  Magdalena, 
which  was  beleaguered  by  Guatiguana,  the  cacique  of  the  Grand 
River,  who  had  massacred  the  Spaniards  quartered  in  his  town. 
He  was  driven  from  before  the  fortress,  his  country  laid  waste,  and 
many  of  his  warriors  slain,  but  the  chieftain  made  his  escape.  As 
he  was  tributary  to  Guarionex,  the  sovereign  of  the  royal  vega, 
care  was  taken  to  explain  to  that  powerful  cacique  that  this  was  an 
act  of  mere  individual  punishment,  not  of  general  hostility.  Gua- 
rionex was  of  a  quiet  and  placable  disposition ;  he  was  easily 
soothed  and  won  to  friendship ;  and,  to  link  him  in  some  degree  to 
the  Spanish  interest,  Columbus  prevailed  upon  him  to  give  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  the  converted  Lucayan,  who  had  been  bap- 
tized in  Spain  by  the  name  of  Diego  Colon,  and  who  was  devoted 
to  the  admiral.  He  gained  permission  from  him  also  to  erect  a 
fortress  in  the  midst  of  his  territories,  which  he  named  Fort  Con- 
ception. 

The  most  formidable  enemy  remained  to  be  disposed  of,  which 
was  Caonabo  ;  to  make  war  upon  this  fierce  and  subtle  chieftain  in 
the  depths  of  his  wild  woodland  territory,  and  among  the  fastnesses 


OF   COLUMBUS.  253 

of  his  mountains,  would  have  been  a  work  of  time,  peril,  and  uncer- 
tain issue.  In  the  mean  while,  the  settlements  would  never  be  safe 
from  his  secret  combinations  and  daring  enterprises,  nor  could  the 
mines  be  worked  with  security,  as  they  lay  in  his  neighborhood. 
While  perplexed  on  this  subject,  Columbus  was  relieved  by  a  prop- 
osition of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  who  undertook  to  bring  the  Carib  chief- 
tain either  a  friend  or  captive  to  the  settlement. 

Choosing  ten  bold  and  hardy  followers,  well  armed  and  well 
mounted,  and  invoking  the  protection  of  his  patroness  the  Virgin, 
Ojeda  plunged  into  the  forest,  and  making  his  way  above  sixty 
leagues  into  the  wild  territories  of  Caonabo,  appeared  fearlessly  be- 
fore the  cacique  in  one  of  his  most  populous  towns,  professing  to 
come  on  an  amicable  embassy  from  the  admiral.  He  was  well  re- 
ceived by  Caonabo,  who  had  tried  him  in  battle,  and  had  conceived  a 
warrior's  admiration  of  him.  The  free,  dauntless  deportment,  great 
personal  strength  and  agility,  and  surprising  adroitness  of  Ojeda  in 
all  manly  and  warlike  exercises,  were  calculated  to  charm  a  savage, 
and  soon  made  him  a  favorite  with  Caonabo.  He  used  all  his  influence 
to  prevail  upon  the  cacique  to  repair  to  Isabella,  and  enter  into  a 
treaty  with  Columbus,  offering  him,  it  is  said,  as  an  inducement,  the 
bell  of  the  chapel  at  the  harbor.  This  bell  was  the  wonder  of  the 
island.  When  its  melody  sounded  through  the  forests,  as  it  rung  for 
mass,  the  Indians  had  noticed  that  the  Spaniards  hastened  from  all 
parts  to  the  chapel.  At  other  times,  when  it  gave  the  vesper-peal,  they 
beheld  the  Spaniards  pause  in  the  midst  of  their  labors  or  amuse- 
ments, and,  taking  off  their  hats,  repeat  a  prayer  with  great  devo- 
tion. They  imagined,  therefore,  that  this  bell  had  some  mysterious 
power;  that  it  had  come  from  the  "Turey,"  or  the  skies,  and  was 
the  zemi  of  the  white  men  ;  that  it  talked  to  them,  and  they  obeyed 
its  orders.  Caonabo  had  longed  to  see  this  bell,  and  when  it  was 
proffered  to  him  as  a  present  of  peace,  he  found  it  impossible  to 
resist  the  temptation. 

He  agreed  to  visit  the  admiral  at  the  harbor ;  but  when  the 
time  came  to  depart,  Ojeda  beheld  with  surprise  a  powerful  army 
ready  to  march.  He  remonstrated  on  taking  such  a  force  on  a 
mere  friendly  visit,  to  which  the  cacique  proudly  replied,  "  that 
it  was  not  befitting  a  great  prince  like  him  to  go  forth  scantily 
guarded."  Ojeda  feared  some  sinister  design,  and,  to  outwit  the 
cacique,  had  resort  to  a  stratagem  which  has  the  air  of  a  romantic 


254  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

fable,  but  is  recorded  by  all  the  contemporary  Historians,  and  ac- 
cords with  the  adventurous  and  extravagant  character  of  the  man, 
and  the  wild  stratagems  incident  to  Indian  warfare. 

As  the  army  had  halted  one  day  near  the  river  Yegua,  Ojeda 
produced  a  set  of  manacles  of  polished  steel,  so  highly  burnished 
that  they  looked  like  silver.  These  he  assured  Caonabo  were  orna- 
ments worn  by  the  Castilian  monarchs  on  high  festivities,  and  were 
sent  as  a  present  to  him.  He  proposed  that  Caonabo  should  bathe 
in  the  river,  after  which  he  should  be  decorated  with  these  orna- 
ments, mounted  on  the  horse  of  Ojeda,  and  conducted  back  in  the 
state  of  a  Spanish  monarch  to  astonish  his  subjects.  The  cacique 
was  dazzled  with  the  splendor  of  the  shackles,  and  pleased  with  the 
idea  of  bestriding  one  of  those  tremendous  animals  so  dreaded  by 
his  countrymen.  He  bathed  in  the  river,  mounted  behind  Ojeda, 
and  the  shackles  were  adjusted.  The  Spaniards  then  pranced  among 
the  astonished  savages,  and  made  a  wide  sweep  into  the  forest,  un- 
til the  trees  concealed  them  from  sight.  They  then  drew  their 
swords,  closed  round  Caonabo,  and  threatened  him  with  instant 
death,  if  he  made  the  least  noise  or  resistance.  They  bound  him 
with  cords  to  Ojeda,  to  prevent  his  falling  or  effecting  an  escape ; 
then  putting  spurs  to  their  horses,  they  dashed  across  the  Yegua, 
made  off  through  the  woods  with  their  prize,  and  after  a  long,  rug- 
ged, and  perilous  journey,  entered  Isabella  in  triumph;  Ojeda  bring- 
ing the  wild  Indian  chieftain  bound  behind  him  a  captive. 

Columbus  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  his  great  satisfac- 
tion when  this  dangerous  foe  was  delivered  into  his  hands.  The 
haughty  Carib  met  him  with  a  lofty  and  unsubdued  air,  disdaining 
to  conciliate  him  by  submission,  or  to  deprecate  his  vengeance  for 
his  massacre  of  the  garrison  of  La  Navidad.  He  even  boasted 
that  he  had  secretly  reconnoitered  Isabella,  with  the  design  of 
wreaking  on  it  the  same  destruction.  He  never  evinced  the  least 
animosity  against  Ojeda  for  the  artifice  by  which  he  had  been  cap- 
tured. He  looked  upon  it  as  the  exploit  of  a  master  spirit,  to 
pounce  upon  him,  and  bear  him  off  in  this  hawk-like  manner,  from 
the  very  midst  of  his  fighting  men,  for  there  is  nothing  that  an 
Indian  more  admires  in  warfare  than  a  deep-laid  and  well-executed 
stratagem.  Whenever  Columbus  entered  the  prison  of  Caonabo, 
all  present  rose,  according  to  custom,  and  paid  him  reverence. 
The  cacique  alone  remained  sitting.     On  the  contrary,  when  Ojeda 


(255) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


257 


entered,  though  small  in  person,  and  without  external  state,  Cao- 
nabo  immediately  rose  and  saluted  him  with  profound  respect.  On 
being  asked  the  reason  of  this,  the  proud  Carib  replied  that  the 
admiral  had  never  dared  to  come  personally  to  his  dominions  and 
capture  him;  it  was  only  through  the  valor  of  Ojeda  he  was 
his  prisoner;  to  the  latter  alone,  therefore,  he  should  pay  rev- 
erence. 

Columbus,  though  struck  with  the  natural  heroism  of  this  savage, 
considered  him  too  dangerous  an  enemy  to  be  left  at  large.  He 
maintained  him,  therefore,  a  close  prisoner  in  a  part  of  his  own 
dwelling,  until  he  could  be  shipped  to  Spain,  but  treated  him  with 
great  kindness  and  respect.  One  of  the  brothers  of  the  cacique 
assembled  an  army  in  hopes  of  surprising  the  fortress  of  St. 
Thomas,  and  capturing  a  number  of  Spaniards,  for  whom  he  might 
obtain  Caonabo  in  exchange  ;  but  Ojeda  received  intelligence  of  his 
design,  and  coming  upon  him  suddenly,  attacked  him  with  his 
little  troop  of  horse,  routed  his  army,  killed  many  of  his  warriors, 
and  took  him  prisoner. 


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(258) 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  VEGA.      IMPOSITION    OF  TRIBUTE.     (1494.) 


■i  HE  arrival  of  four  ships  about  this  time, 
commanded  by  Antonio  Torres,  bring- 
ing out  a  physician  and  apothecary,  va- 
rious mechanics,  millers,  and  husband- 
men, and  an  ample  supply  of  provisions, 
(    diffused  universal  joy  among  the  suffer- 

ra/JSll^oO    X^clffb?/     *n&  Spaniards.      Columbus  received   a 

highly  flattering  letter  from  the  sover- 
eigns, approving  of  all  that  he  had  done, 
informing  him  that  all  differences  with 
Portugal  had  been  amicably  adjusted, 
and  inviting  him  to  return  to  Spain,  or 
to  send  some  able  person  in  his  place, 
furnished  with  maps  and  charts,  to  be 
^  present  at  a  convention  for  adjusting  the 
dividing  line  of  discovery  between  the  two  pow- 
ers. Columbus  hastened  the  return  of  the  ships, 
sending  his  brother  Diego  to  attend  the  convention,  and  to  counter- 
act the  misrepresentations  which  he  was  aware  had  been  sent  home 
of  his  conduct,  and  which  would  be  enforced  by  Margarite  and 
Friar  Boyle.  He  remitted,  by  the  ships,  all  the  gold  he  could  col- 
lect, with  specimens  of  fruits  and  valuable  plants,  and  five  hundred 
Indian  captives,  to  be  sold  as  slaves  in  Seville.  It  is  painful  to 
find  the  glory  of  Columbus  sullied  by  such  violations  of  the  laws 
of  humanity,  but  the  customs  of  the  times  must  plead  his  apology. 
In  the  recent  discoveries   along  the  coast  of  Africa,  the  traffic  in 


(259) 


DUCAT   (NATURAL  SIZE)    TIME 
OF  FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA. 


260  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

slaves  had  formed  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  profit ;  and  in  the 
wars  with  the  enlightened  and  highly  civilized  Moors  of  Granada, 
the  Spaniards  were  accustomed  to  make  slaves  of  their  prisoners. 
Columbus  was  goaded  on,  likewise,  by  the  misrepresentations  of  his 
enemies,  to  try  every  means  of  indemnifying  the  sovereigns  for 
the  expenses  of  his  enterprises,  and  to  produce  them  a  revenue 
from  the  countries  he  had  discovered. 

The  admiral  had  now  recovered  his  health,  and  the  colonists 
were  in  some  degree,  refreshed  and  invigorated  by  the  supplies 
brought  by  the  ships,  when  Guacanagari  brought  intelligence  that 
the  allied  caciques,  headed  by  Manicaotex,  brother  and  successor 
to  Caonabo,  had  assembled  all  their  forces  in  the  vega,  within 
two  days'  march  of  Isabella,  with  an  intention  of  making  a  grand 
assault  upon  the  settlement.  Columbus  immediately  determined 
to  carry  the  war  into  the  territories  of  the  enemy,  rather  than  wait 
'for  it  to  be  brought  to  his  door. 

The  whole  sound  and  effective  force  he  could  muster,  in  the 
present  sickly  state  of  the  colony,  did  not  exceed  two  hundred  in- 
fantry, and  twenty  horse.  There  were  twenty  blood-hounds  also, 
animals  scarcely  less  terrible  to  the  Indians  than  the  horses,  and 
infinitely  more  destructive.  Guacanagari,  also,  brought  his  people 
into  the  field,  but  both  he  and  his  subjects  were  of  an  unwarlike 
character;  the  chief  advantage  of  his  co-operation  was,  that  it  com- 
pletely severed  him  from  his  fellow  caciques,  and  secured  him  as  an 
ally.   " 

It  was  on  the  27th  of  March,  1495,  that  Columbus  issued  forth 
from  Isabella  with  his  little  army,  accompanied  by  his  brother,  the 
adelantado,  and  advancing  by  rapid  marches,  arrived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  enemy,  who  were  assembled  in  the  vega,  near  to 
where  the  town  of  Santiago  has  since  been  built.  The  Indians 
were  confident  in  their  number,  which  is  said  to  have  amounted  to 
one  hundred  thousand  ;  this  is  evidently  an  exaggeration,  but  the 
number  was  undoubtedly  very  great.  The  adelantado  arranged  the 
mode  of  attack.  The  infantry,  divided  into  small  detachments,  ad- 
vanced suddenly  from  various  quarters,  with  great  din  of  drums 
and  trumpets,  and  a  destructive  discharge  of  firearms.  The  Indians 
were  struck  with  panic.  An  army  seemed  pressing  upon  them  from 
every  quarter.  Many  were  slain  by  the  balls  of  the  arquebuses, 
which  seemed  to  burst  with  thunder  and  lightning  from  the  forests. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


26l 


In  the  height  of  their  confusion,  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  charged  impetu- 
ously on  their  main  body  with  his  cavalry,  bearing  down  and  tramp- 
ling them  under  foot,  and  dealing  deadly 
blows  with  lance  and  sword.  The  blood- 
hounds were,  at  the  same  time,  let  loose,  and 
rushed  upon  the  naked  savages,  seizing  them 
b}'  the  throat,  dragging  them  to  the  earth, 
and  tearing  out  their  bowels.  The  battle,  if 
such  it  might  be  called,  was  of  short  duration. 
The  Indians,  overwhelmed,  fled  in  every  di- 
rection, with  yells  and  howlings.  Some  clam- 
bered to  the  tops  of  rocks  and  precipices,  from 
whence  they  made  piteous  supplications  and 
promises  of  submission.  Many  were  slain, 
many  made  prisoners,  and  the  confederacy 
was,  for  the  time,  completely  broken  up. 

Guacanagari  had  accompanied  the  Span- 
iards into  the  field,  but  he  was  little  more 
than  a  spectator  of  the  battle.  His  participa- 
tion in  the  hostilities  of  the  white  men,  how- 
ever, was  never  forgiven  by  the  other  caciques ; 
and  he  returned  to  his  dominions  followed  by 
the  hatred  and  execrations  of  his  countrymen. 

Columbus  followed  up  his  victory  by 
making  a  military  tour  through  various  parts  of  the  island,  which 
were  soon  reduced  to  subjection.  He  then  exercised  what  he  con- 
sidered the  right  of  a  conqueror,  and  imposed  tributes  on  the  van- 
quished provinces.  In  those  which  possessed  mines,  each  individ- 
ual, above  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  was  obliged  to  render,  every 
three  months,  the  measure  of  a  Flemish  hawk's  bell  of  gold  dust.* 
The  caciques  had  to  pay  a  much  larger  amount  for  their  personal 
tribute.  Manicaotex,  the  brother  of  Caonabo,  rendered  in,  every 
three  months,  half  a  calabash  of  gold.  In  those  provin- 
ces which  produced  no  gold,  each  individual  was  obliged 
to  furnish  twenty-five  pounds  of  cotton  every  three 
months.  A  copper  medal,  suspended  about  the  neck, 
was  a  proof  that  an  Indian  had  paid  his  tribute ;  any 
one  found  without  such  a  certificate  was  liable  to  arrest 

*  Equal  in  value  to  fifteen  dollars  at  the  present  time. 


BATTLE   OF   THE   VEGA. 


262 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


and  punishment.     Various  fortresses  were  erected  in  the  most  im- 
portant places,  so  as  to  keep  the  Indians  in  complete  subjection. 

In  this  way  the  yoke  of  servitude  was  fixed  upon  the  island, 
and  its  thraldom  completely  insured.  Deep  despair  now  fell  upon 
the  natives,  for  they  found  a  perpetual  task  inflicted  upon  them, 
enforced  at  stated  and  frequently  recurring  periods.  Weak  and 
indolent  by  nature,  and  brought  up  in  the  untasked  idleness  of  their 
soft  climate,  and  their  fruitful  groves,  death  itself  seemed  prefera- 
ble to  a  life  of  toil  and  anxiety.  They  saw  no  end  to  this  harassing 
evil,  which  had  so  suddenly  fallen  upon  them ;  no  prospect  of  re- 
turn to  that  roving  independence  and  ample  leisure,  so  dear  to 
the  wild  inhabitant  of  the  forest.  The  pleasant  life  of  the  island 
was  at  an  end ;  —  the  dream  in  the  shade  by  day ;  the  slumber, 
during  the  sultry  noontide  heat,  by  the  fountain  or  the  stream,  or 
under  the  spreading  palm  tree ;  and  the  song,  the  dance,  and  the 
game  in  the  mellow  evening,  when  summoned  to  their  simple 
amusements  by  the  rude  Indian  drum.  Or,  if  they  occasionally 
indulged  in  a  national  dance,  after  a  day  of  painful  toil,  the  ballads 
to  which  they  kept  time  were  of  a  melancholy  and  plaintive  charac- 
ter. They  spoke  of  the  times  that  were  past, 
before  the  white  men  had  introduced  sorrow, 
and  slavery,  and  weary  labor  among  them ;  and 
they  rehearsed  prophecies  pretended  to  be 
handed  down  from  their  ancestors,  foretelling 
that  strangers  should  come  into  their  island, 
clothed  in  apparel,  with 
swords  capable  of  cleaving 
a  man  asunder  at  a  blow, 
under  whose  yoke  their  race 
should  be  subdued  and  pass 
away.  These  ballads,  or 
areytos,  they  sang  with 
mournful  tunes  and  doleful 
voices,  bewailing  the  loss  of 
their  liberty  and  their  pain- 
ful servitude. 

They  had  flattered  them- 
selves, for  a  time,  that  the 
visit  of  the  strangers  would 


IDYLLIC    LIFE    OF    THE    NATIVES    OF    HAVTI- 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


263 


THE    CRUEL    AND    RELENTLESS    PURSUIT    OF   THE    FAMISHED    INDIANS;    W1TI 
THEY    ARE    PURSUED   TO   THEIR    MOUNTAIN    FASTNESS. 


be  but  temporary,  and  that,  spreading  their  ample  sails,  their 
ships  would  soon  waft  them  back  to  their  home  in  the  sky.  In 
their  simplicity  they  had  repeatedly  inquired  of  the  Spaniards 
when  they  intended  to  return  to  Turey,  or  the  heavens.  All 
such  hope  was  now  at  an 
end;  and,  finding  how  vain 
was  every  attempt  to  deliver 
themselves  from  their  in- 
vaders   by    warlike 


means, 
they  now  resorted  to  a  for- 
lorn and  desperate  alterna- 
tive. Knowing  that  the 
Spaniards  depended,  in  a 
great  measure,  for  subsist- 
ence on  the  supplies  which 
they  furnished  them,  they 
endeavored  to  .produce  a 
famine.  For  this  purpose, 
they  destroyed  their  fields  of  maize,  stripped  the  trees  of  their  fruit, 
pulled  up  the  yuca  and  other  roots,  and  then  fled  to  the  mountains. 

The  Spaniards  were  indeed  reduced  to  much  distress,  but  were 
partially  relieved  by  supplies  from  Spain.  They  pursued  the  na- 
tives to  their  mountain  retreats,  hunting  them  from  one  dreary 
fastness  to  another,  until  thousands  perished  in  dens  and  caverns 
of  famine  and  sickness,  and  the  survivors,  yielding  themselves  up  to 
despair,  submitted  humbly  to  the  yoke.  So  deep  an  awe  did  they 
conceive  of  their  conquerors,  that  it  is  said  that  a  Spaniard  might 
go  singly  and  securely  all  over  the  island,  and  the  natives  would 
even  transport  him  from  place  to  place  on  their  shoulders. 

Before  passing  on  to  other  events,  it  may  be  proper  here  to 
notice  the  fate  of  Guacanagari,  as  he  makes  no  further  appearance 
in  the  course  of  this  history.  His  friendship  for  the  Spaniards 
severed  him  from  his  countrymen,  but  it  did  not  exonerate  him 
from  the  general  woes  of  the  island.  At  a  time  when  Columbus 
was  absent,  the  Spaniards  exacted  a  tribute  from  him,  which  his 
people,  with  the  common  repugnance  to  labor,  found  it  difficult  and 
distressing  to  pay.  Unable  to  bear  the  murmurs  of  his  subjects, 
the  hostilities  of  his  fellow  caciques,  the  extortions  of  his  ungrate- 
ful allies,  and  the  sight  of  the  various  miseries  which  he  felt  as  if 


FIRE   AND    SMOKE 


264 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


he  had  invoked  upon  his  race,  he  retired  to  the  mountains,  where 
it  is  said  he  died  obscurely  and  in  misery. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  by  a  Spanish  historian  to  defame 
the  character  of  this  Indian  prince  ;  but  it  is  not  for  Spaniards  to 
excuse  their  own  ingratitude  by  casting  a  stigma  upon  his  name. 
He  appears  to  have  always  manifested  towards  them  that  true 
friendship  which  shines  brightest  in  the  dark  days  of  adversity.  He 
might  have  played  a  nobler  part,  in  making  a  stand,  with  his 
brother  caciques,  to  drive  those  intruders  from  his  native  soil ;  but 
he  appears  to  have  been  blinded  by  his  admiration  of  them,  and  his 
personal  attachment  to  Columbus.  He  was  bountiful,  hospitable, 
affectionate,  and  kind-hearted;  competent  to  rule  a  gentle  and  un-. 
warlike  people  in  the  happier  days  of  the  island,  but  unfitted, 
through  the  mildness  of  his  nature,  for  the  stern  turmoil  which 
followed  the  arrival  of  the  white  men. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE   COMMISSIONER   AGUADO.      DISCOVERY  OF  THE  GOLD   MINES  OF  HAYNA.    (149  5.) 

'HILE  Columbus  was  endeavoring  to  rem- 
edy the  evils  produced  by  the  misconduct 
of  Margarite  and  his  followers,  that  recreant 
commander,  and  his  politic  coadjutor  Friar 
Boyle,  were  busily  undermining  his  repu- 
tation in  the  court  of  Spain.  They  accused 
him  of  deceiving  the  sovereigns  and  the  pub- 
lic by  extravagant  descriptions  of  the  coun- 
tries he  had  discovered  ;  and  of  tyranny  and 
oppression  towards  the  colonists,  compelling 
excessive  labor  during  a  time  of  sickness  and 
debility;  inflicting  severe  punishments  for  the 
most  trifling  offense,  and  heaping  indignities  on 
Spanish  gentlemen  of  rank.  They  said  nothing,  however,  of  the 
exigencies  which  had  called  for  unusual  labor ;  nor  of  the  idleness 
and  profligacy  of  the  commonalty,  which  called  for  coercion  and 
chastisement;  nor  of  the  contumacy  and  cabals  of  the  cavaliers, 
who  had  been  treated  with  indulgence  rather  than  severity.  These 
representations,  being  supported  by  many  factious  and  discontented 
idlers  who  had  returned  from  the  colony,  and  enforced  by  people  of 
rank  connected  with  the  cavaliers,  had  a  baneful  effect  upon  the 
popularity  of  Columbus,  and  his  favor  with  the  sovereigns. 

About  this  time  a  measure  was  adopted,  which  shows  the  de- 
clining influence  of  the  admiral.  A  pfoclamation  was  made  on  the 
ioth  of  April,  giving  general  permission  to  native-born  subjects  to 
settle  in  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  and  to  go  on  private  voyages  of 
discovery  and  traffic  to  the  new  world.     They  were  to  pay  certain 

15 


(265) 


266 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


proportions  of  their  profits  to  the  crown,  and  to  be  subject  to  cer- 
tain regulations.  The  privilege  of  an  eighth  part  of  the  tonnage 
was  likewise  secured  to  Columbus,  as  admiral ;  but  he  felt  himself 
exceedingly  aggrieved  at  this  permission  being  granted  without 
his  knowledge  or  consent,  considering  it  an  infringement  of  his 
rights,  and  a  measure  likely  to  disturb  the  course  of  regular  dis- 
covery by  the  licentious  and  predatory  enterprises  of  reckless  ad- 
venturers. 

The  arrival  of  the  ships  commanded  by  Torres,  bringing  ac- 
counts of  the  voyage  along  the  southern  coasts  of  Cuba,  supposed 
to  be  the  continent  of  Asia,  and  specimens  of  the  gold,  and  the  veg- 
etable and  animal  productions  of  the  country,  counterbalanced  in 
some  degree  these  unfavorable  representations  of  Margarite  and 
Boyle.  Still  it  was  determined  to  send  out  a  commissioner  to  in- 
quire into  the  alleged  distress  of  the  colony,  and  the  conduct  of 
Columbus,  and  one  Juan  Aguado  was  appointed  for  the  purpose. 
He  had  already  been  to  Hispaniola,  and  on  returning  had  been 
strongly  recommended  to  royal  favor  by  Columbus.  In  appointing 
a  person,  therefore,  for  whom  the  admiral  appeared  to  have  a  re- 
gard, and  who  was  under  obligations  to  him,  the  sovereigns  thought, 
perhaps,  to  soften  the  harshness  of  the  measure. 

As  to  the  five  hundred  slaves  sent  home  in  the  ships  of  Torres, 

Isabella  ordered  a  consulta- 
tion of  pious  theologians  to 
determine  whether,  having 
been  taken  in  warfare, 
their  sale  as  slaves  would 
be  justifiable  in  the  sight 
of  God.    Much  difference  of 


THE    JUNTA   OF    PIOUS   THEOLOGIANS    DISCUSSING   THE    SUBJECT    OF    HUMAN    SLAVERY. 


opinion  arose  among  the  di- 
vines on  this  important  question ;  whereupon  the  Queen  decided  it 
according  to  the  dictates  of  her  conscience  and  her  heart,  and  or- 
dered that  the  Indians  should  be  taken  back  to  their  native  country. 
Juan  de  Aguado  set  sail  from  Spain  towards  the  end  of  August 
with  four  caravels  freighted  with  supplies,  and  Don  Diego  Colum- 
bus returned  in  this  squadron  to  Hispaniola.  Aguado  was  one  of 
those  weak  men  whose  heads  are  turned  by  the  least  elevation. 
Though  under  obligations  to  Columbus,  he  forgot  them  all,  and 
forgot  even  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  own  commission.    Finding 


OF  COLUMBUS.  267 

Columbus  absent  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  on  his  arrival,  he 
acted  as  if  the  reins  of  government  had  been  transferred  into  his 
hands.  He  paid  no  respect  to  Don  Bartholomew,  who  had  been 
placed  in  command  by  his  brother  during  his  absence,  but  pro- 
claiming his  letter  of  credence  by  sound  of  trumpet,  he  proceeded 
( to  arrest  various  public  officers,  to  call  others  to  rigorous  account, 
and  to  invite  every  one,  who  had  wrongs  or  grievances  to  complain 
of,  to  come  forward  boldly  and  make  them  known.  He  already  re- 
garded Columbus  as  a  criminal,  and  intimated,  and  perhaps  thought, 
that  he  was  keeping  at  a  distance  through  fear  of  his  investigations. 
He  even  talked  of  setting  off  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  horse  to  ar- 
rest him.  The  whole  community  was  in  confusion ;  the  downfall 
of  the  family  of  Columbus  was  considered  as  arrived,  and  some 
thought  the  admiral  would  lose  his  head. 

The  news  of  the  arrival  and  of  the  insolent  conduct  of  Aguado 
reached  Columbus  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  and  he  immediately 
hastened  to  Isabella  to  give  him  a  meeting.  As  every  one  knew 
the  lofty  spirit  of  Columbus,  his  high  sense  of  his  services,  and  his 
jealous  maintenance  of  his  official  dignity,  a  violent  explosion  was 
anticipated  at  the  impending  interview.  The  natural  heat  and  im- 
petuosity of  Columbus,  however,  had  been  subdued  by  a  life  of  trials, 
and  he  had  learnt  to  bring  his  passions  into  subjection  to  his  judg- 
ment; he  had  too  true. an  estimate  of  his  own  dignity  to  enter  into 
a  contest  with  a  shallow  boaster  like  Aguado :  above  all,  he  had  a 
profound  reverence  for  the  authority  of  his  sovereigns ;  for,  in  his 
enthusiastic  spirit,  prone  to  deep  feelings  of  reverence,  loyalty  was 
inferior  only  to  religion.  He  received  Aguado,  therefore,  with  the 
most  grave  and  punctilious  courtesy,  ordered  his  letter  of  credence 
to  be  again  proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet,  and  assured  him  of 
his  readiness  to  acquiesce  in  whatever  might  be  the  pleasure  of  his 
sovereigns. 

The  moderation  of  Columbus  was  regarded  by  many,  and  by 
Aguado  himself,  as  a  proof  of  his  loss  of  moral  courage.  Bvery 
dastard  spirit  who  had  any  lurking  ill  will,  any  real  or  imaginary 
cause  of  complaint,  now  hastened  to  give  it  utterance.  It  was  a 
time  of  jubilee  for  offenders :  every  culprit  started  up  into  an  ac- 
cuser ;  every  one  who  by  negligence  or  crime  had  incurred  the 
wholesome  penalties  of  the  laws  was  loud  in  his  clamors  of  oppres- 
sion; and  all  the  ills  of  the  colony,  however  produced,  were  as- 
cribed to  the  mal-administration  of  the  admiral. 


268  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

Aguado  listened  to  every  accusation  with  ready  credulity,  and 
having  collected  information  sufficient,  as  he  thought,  to  insure 
the  ruin  of  the  admiral  and  his  brothers,  prepared  to  return 
to  Spain.  Columbus  resolved  to  do  the  same ;  for  he  felt  that 
it  was  about  time  to  appear  at  court,  to  vindicate  his  conduct 
from  the  misrepresentations  of  his  enemies,  and  to  explain  the 
causes  of  the  distresses  of  the  colony,  and  of  the  disappointments 
with  respect  to  revenue,  which  he  feared  migbt  discourage  the 
prosecution  of  his  discoveries. 

When  the  ships  were  ready  to  depart,  a  terrible  storm  swept 
the  island;  it  was  one  of  those  awful  whirlwinds  which  occasionally 
rage  within  the  tropics,  and  which  were  called  '  Uricans '  *  by  the 
Indians,  a  name  which  they  still  retain.  Three  of  the  ships  at  an- 
chor in  the  harbor  were  sunk  by  it,  with  all  who  were  on  board ; 
others  were  dashed  against  each  other,  and  driven  mere  wrecks 
upon  the  shore.  The  Indians  were  overwhelmed  with  astonish- 
ment and  dismay,  for  never  in  their  memory,  or  in  the  traditions 
of  their  ancestors,  had  they  known  so  tremendous  a  storm.  They 
believed  that  the  Deity  had  sent  it  in  punishment  of  the  cruelties 
and  crimes  of  the  white  men,  and  declared  that  this  people  moved 
the  very  air,  the  water,  and  the  earth  to  disturb  their  tranquil  life, 
and  to  desolate  their  island. 

The  departure  of  Columbus,  and  of  Aguado,  was  delayed  until 
one  of  the  shattered  vessels,  the  Nina,  could  be  repaired,  and  an- 
other constructed  out  of  the  fragments  of  the  wrecks.  In  the  mean 
time,  information  was  received  of  rich  mines  in  the  interior  of  the 
island.  A  young  Arragonian,  named  Miguel  Diaz,  in  the  service 
of  the  adelantado,  having  wounded  a  companion  in  a  quarrel,  fled 
from  the  settlement,  accompanied  by  five  or  six  comrades,  who  had 
either  been  engaged  in  the  affray,  or  were  personally  attached  to 
him.  Wandering  about  the  island,  they  at  length  came  to  an  In- 
dian village,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ozema,  where  the  city  of  San 
Domingo  is  at  present  situated ;  they  were  received  with  kindness 
by  the  natives,  and  resided  for  some  time  among  them.  The 
village  was  governed  by  a  female  cacique,  who  soon  conceived  a 
strong  affection  for  the  young  Arragonian.  A  connection  was 
formed  between  them,  and  they  lived  for  some  time  very  happily 

*Orkan,  German;  ouragan,  French;  hurricane,  English. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


269 


together.  At  length  the  remembrance  of  his  country  and  his 
friends  began  to  haunt  the  mind  of  the  Spaniard;  he  longed  to 
return  to  the  settlement,  but  dreaded  the  austere  justice  of  the 
adelantado.  His  Indian  bride  observing  him  frequently  lost  in 
gloomy  thought,  drew  from  him  the  cause  of  his  melancholy.  Fear- 
ful that  he  would  abandon  her,  and  knowing  the  influence  of  gold 
over  the  white  men,  she  informed  him  of  certain  rich  mines  in  the 
neighborhood,  and 
urged  him  to  persuade 
his  countrymen  to  aban- 
don Isabella,  and  to  re- 
move to  that  part  of  the 
island,  to  the  fertile 
banks  of  the  Ozema, 
promising  that  they 
should  be  hospitably 
received  by  her  nation. 

Diaz  was  rejoiced 
at  this  intelligence,  and 
hastened  with  it  to  the 
settlement,  flattering 
himself  that   it   would 

make  his  peace  with  the  adelantado.  He  was  not  mistaken. 
No  tidings  could  have  come  more  opportunely,  for,  if  true, 
they  would  furnish  the  admiral  with  the  most  effectual  means 
of  silencing  the  cavils  of  his  enemies. 

The  adelantado  immediately  set  out  in  company  with  Diaz 
and  his   Indian   guides.     He  was  conducted   to   the  banks  of 
a   river  called    the    Hayna,  where   he    found    gold    in  greater 
quantities  and  larger  particles  than  even  in  the  rich  province 
of  Cibao,  and  observed  several  excavations,  where  it  appeared 
as  if  mines  had 
been  worked  in 
ancient  times. 
Columbus    was 


overjoyed  at  the 
sight  of  these 
specimens,  bro't 
back  by  the  ade- 


COLUMBUS   ON    THE    EVE   OF    DEPARTURE    OVERTAKEN    BY    A    HURRICANE.       (SEE    PAGE   288.) 


270 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


lantado,  and  was  surprised  to  hear  of  the  excavations,  as  the  In- 
dians possessed  no  knowledge  of  mining,  and  merely  picked  up 
the  gold  from  the  surface  of  the  soil,  or  the  beds  of  the  rivers. 
The  circumstance  gave  rise  to  one  of  his  usual  veins  of  visionary 
speculation.  He  had  already  surmised  that  Hispaniola  might  be 
the  ancient  Ophir ;  he  now  fancied  he  had  discovered  the  iden- 
tical mines  from  whence  King  Solomon  had  procured  his  great 
supplies  of  gold  for  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  He 
gave  orders  that  a  fortress  should  be  immediately  erected  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mines,  and  that  they  should  be  diligently  worked ; 
and  he  now  looked  forward  with  confidence  to  his  return  to  Spain, 
the  bearer  of  such  golden  tidings. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  mention  that  Miguel  Diaz  re- 
mained faithful  to  his  Indian  bride,  who  was  baptized  by  the  name 
of  Catalina.     They  were  regularly  married  and  had  two  children. 


VIEW   OF    THE   CITY    OF    SAN    DOMINGO.      THE    FORT    ERECTED    BY    COLUMBUS   ON   THE    BANKS   OF    THE    CZEMA 

IN    THE    FOREGROUND. 
REPRODUCED    FROM    A    PRINT   OF    THE    16TH    CENTURY. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

RETURN   OF   COLUMBUS   TO   SPAIN.      PREPARATIONS    FOR   A 
THIRD   VOYAGE.      (1496.) 

HE   new  caravel,  the  Santa  Cruz,  being  finished, 
and  the  Nina  repaired,  Columbus  gave  the  com- 
mand of  the   island  during  his    absence   to   his 
brother,  Don   Bartholomew,  with  the 
title    of   adelantado.     He    then    em- 
barked on  board  of  one  of  the  cara- 
vels, and  Aguado  in  the  other.    The 
vessels  were  crowded  with  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  passengers,  the 
sick,  the  idle,  the  profligate  and  fac- 
tious of  the  colony.      Never  did  a 
more   miserable   and  disappointed 
crew    return    from     a    land    of 
promise. 

There  were  thirty 
'^^k^      Indians    also    on 
"yL  board,  and  among  them 
the  once  redoubtable 
Caonabo,    together 
with    one 
of     his 
brothers, 
and      a 
nephew. 
The    ad- 
miral had 
promised 
to  restore 
them  to 
their 
country 
and  their 
power,  af- 
t  e  r    hav- 
i  n  g  pre- 
s  e  n  t  e  d 


NATIVES    OF    THE    ISLAND    OF    GUADALOUPE. 


--7i) 


272  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

them  to  the  sovereigns ;  trusting  by  kind  treatment,  and  a  display 
of  the  wonders  of  Spain,  to  conquer  their  hostility,  and  convert 
them  into  important  instruments  for  the  quiet  subjugation  of  the 
island. 

Being  as  yet  but  little  experienced  in  the  navigation  of  these 
seas,  Columbus,  instead  of  working  up  to  the  northward,  so  as  to 
fall  in  with  the  track  of  westerly  winds,  took  an  easterly  course  on 
leaving  the  island.  His  voyage,  in  consequence,  became  a  toilsome 
and  tedious  struggle  against  the  trade  winds*  and  calms  which  pre- 
vail between  the  tropics.  Though  he  sailed  on  the  10th  of  March, 
yet  on  the  6th  of  April  he  was  still  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Caribbee 
Islands,  and  had  to  touch  at  Guadaloupe  to  procure  provisions. 
Here  skirmishes  occurred  with  the  fierce  natives,  both  male  and 
female ;  for  the  women  were  perfect  Amazons,  of  large  and  power- 
ful frame  and  great  agility.  Several  of  the  latter  were  taken  pris- 
oners ;  they  were  naked,  and  wore  their  hair  loose  and  flowing 
upon  their  shoulders,  though  some  decorated  their  heads  with  tufts 
of  feathers.  Their  weapons  were  bows  and  arrows.  Among  them 
was  the  wife  of  a  cacique,  a  woman  of  a  proud  and  resolute  spirit. 
On  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards  she  had  fled  with  an  agility 
that  soon  distanced  all  pursuers,  excepting  a  native  of  the  Canary 
Islands,  noted  for  swiftness  of  foot.  She  would  have  escaped  even 
from  him,  but  perceiving  that  he  was  alone,  and  far  from  his  com- 
panions, she  suddenly  turned  upon  him,  seized  him  by  the  throat, 
and  would  have  strangled  him,  had  not  the  Spaniards  arrived  and 
taken  her,  entangled  like  a  hawk  with  her  prey. 

When  Columbus  departed  from  the  island,  he  dismissed  all  the 
prisoners  with  presents.  The  female  cacique  alone  refused  to  go 
on  shore.  She  had  conceived  a  passion  for  Caonabo,  having  found 
out  that  he  was  a  Carib,  and  she  had  been  won  by  the  story,  gath- 
ered from  the  other  Indians,  of  his  great  valor  and  his  misfortunes. 
In  the  course  of  the  voyage,  however,  the  unfortunate  Caonabo  ex- 
pired. He  maintained  his  haughty  nature  to  the  last,  for  his  death 
is  principally  ascribed  to  the  morbid  melancholy  of  a  proud  but 
broken  spirit.  His  fate  furnishes  on  a  narrow  scale  a  picture  of 
the  fallacy  of  human  greatness.  When  the  Spaniards  first  arrived 
on   the    coast    of   Hayti,   their    imaginations    were    inflamed    with 

*  Trade  winds  are  the  steadily  blowing  east  winds  between  the  tropics. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


273 


rumors  of  a  magnificent  prince  among  the  mountains,  the  lord  of 
the  golden  house,  the  sovereign  of  the  mines  of  Cibao;  but  a  short 
time  had  elapsed,  and  he  was  a  naked  and  moody  prisoner  on  the 
deck  of  one  of  their  caravels,  with  none  but  one  of  his  own  wild 
native  heroines  to  sympathize  in  his  misfortunes.  All  his  impor- 
tance vanished  with  his  freedom ;  scarce  any  mention  is  made  of  him 
during  his  captivity ;  and  with  innate  qualities  of  a  high  and 
heroic  nature,  he  perished  with  the  obscurity  of  one  of  the  vulgar. 
Columbus  left  Guadaloupe  on  the  20th  of  April,  still  working 
his  way  against  the  whole  current  of  the  trade  winds.  By  the  20th 
of  May  but  a  portion  of  the  voyage  was  performed,  yet  the  provi- 
sions were 
so  much 
exhausted 
that  every 
one  was  put 
on  an  allow- 
ance of  six 
ounces  of 
bread  and  a 
pint  and  a 
half  of  wa- 
ter. By  the 
beginning 
of  June 
th  ere  was 
an  absolute 
famine  o  n 
board  of the 

ships,  and  some  proposed  that  they  should  kill  and  eat  their  Indian 
prisoners,  or  throw  them  into  the  sea  as  so  many  useless  mouths. 
Nothing  but  the  absolute  authority  of  Columbus  prevented  this 
last  counsel  from  being  adopted.  He  represented  that  the  Indians 
were  their  fellow-beings,  some  of  them  Christians  like  themselves, 
and  all  entitled  to  similar  treatment.  He  exhorted  them  to  a  little 
patience,  assuring  them  they  would  soon  make  land,  as,  according 
to  his  reckoning,  they  could  not  be  far  from  Cape  St.  Vincent. 
They  scoffed  at  his  words,  for  they  believed  themselves  as  yet  far 
from  their  desired  haven.     The  next  morning,  however,  proved  the 


DEATH    OF   THE    CACIQUE    CAONABO   ON    BOARD   OF   THE   CARAVEL   SANTA    CRUZ,    BEWAILED   ONLY    BV   ONE    OF 
HIS   OWN    WILD    NATIVE    HEROINES. 


274 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


correctness  of  his  calculations,  for  they  made  the  very  land  he  had 
predicted. 

On  the  nth  of  June  the  vessels  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Cadiz. 
The  populace  crowded  to  witness  the  landing  of  the  gay  and  bold 
adventurers,  who  had  sailed  from  this  very  port  animated  by  the 
most  sanguine  expectations.  Instead,  however,  of  a  joyous  crew, 
bounding  on  shore,  flushed  with  success,  and  rich  with  the  spoils 
of  the  golden  Indies,  a  feeble  train  of  wretched  men  crawled  forth, 
emaciated  by  the  diseases  of  the  colony  and  the  hardships  of  the 
voyage ;    who  carried   in   their  yellow  countenances,   says    an   old 

writer,  a  mockery  of  that 
gold  which  had  been  the  ob- 
ject of  their  search ;  and 
who  had  nothing  to  relate 
of  the  new  world  but  tales 
of  sickness,  poverty,  and  dis- 
appointment. 

The  appearance  of  Co- 
lumbus himself  was  a  kind 
of  comment  on  his  fortunes. 
Either  considering  himself 
in  disgrace  with  the  sover- 
eigns, or  having  made  some 
penitential  vow,  he  was  clad 
in  the  habit  of  a  Franciscan 
monk,  girded  with  a  cord, 
and  he  had  suffered  his  beard 
to  grow  like  the  friars  of 
that  order.  But  however 
humble  he  might  be  in  his 
own  personal  appearance,  he 
endeavored  to  keep  alive  the 
public  interest  in  his  dis- 
coveries. On  his  way  to 
Burgos  to  meet  the  sover- 
eigns, he  made  a  studious 
display  of  the  coronets,  col- 
lars, bracelets  and  other 
ornaments  of  gold,  which  he 


COLUMBUS.    CLAD    IN   THE    HABIT   OF    A    FRANCISCAN    MONK,    MAKES    HIS    ENTRY    INTO    BURGOS    ON 
HIS    RETURN    FROM    HIS    SECOND   VOYAGE. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  275 

had  brought  from  the  new  world.  He  carried  with  him,  also, 
several  Indians,  decorated  with  glittering  ornaments,  and  among 
them  the  brother  of  Caonabo,  on  whom  he  put  a  massive  collar 
and  chain  of  gold,  weighing  six  hundred  castillanos,*  as  being 
cacique  of  the  golden  country  of  Cibao. 

The  reception  of  Columbus  by  the  sovereigns  was  different 
from  what  he  had  anticipated,  for  he  was  treated  with  distinguished 
favor ;  nor  was  any  mention  made  either  of  the  complaints  of  Mar- 
garite  and  Boyle,  or  the  judicial  inquiries  conducted  by  Aguado. 
However-  these  may  have  had  a  transient  effect  upon  the  minds  of 
the  sovereigns,  they  were  too  conscious  of  his  great  deserts,  and  of 
the  extraordinary  difficulties  of  his  situation,  not  to  tolerate  what 
they  may  have  considered  errors  on  his  part. 

Encouraged  by  the  interest  with  which  the  sovereigns  listened 
to  his  account  of  his  recent  voyage  along  the  coast  of  Cuba,  border- 
ing, as  he  supposed,  on  the  rich  territories  of  the  Grand  Khan,  and 
of  his  discovery  of  the  mines  of  Hayna,  which  he  failed  not  to  rep- 
resent as  the  Ophir  of  the  ancients,  Columbus  now  proposed  a  fur- 
ther enterprise,  by  which  he  promised  to  make  yet  more  extensive 
discoveries,  and  to  annex  a  vast  and  unappropriated  portion  of  the 
continent  of  Asia  to  their  dominions.  All  he  asked  was  eight  ships, 
two  to  be  despatched  to  Hispaniola  with  supplies,  the  remaining  six 
to  be  put  under  his  command  for  the  voyage. 

The  sovereigns  readily  promised  to  comply  with  his  request, 
and  were  probably  sincere  in  their  intentions  to  do  so  ;  but  in  the 
performance  of  their  promise  Columbus  was  doomed  to  meet  with 
intolerable  delay.  The  resources  of  Spain  at  this  moment  were 
tasked  to  the  utmost  by  the  ambition  of  Ferdinand,  Avho  lavished 
all  his  revenues  in  warlike  enterprises.  While  maintaining  a  con- 
test of  deep  and  artful  policy  with  France,  with  the  ultimate  aim 
of  grasping  the  sceptre  of  Naples,  he  was  laying  the  foundation  of 
a  wide  and  powerful  connection,  by  the  marriages  of  the  royal  chil- 
dren, who  were  now  maturing  in  years.  At  this  time  rose  that 
family  alliance  which  afterwards  consolidated  such  an  immense  em- 
pire under  his  grandson  and  successor,  Charles  the  Fifth. 

These  widely  extended  operations  both  of  war  and  amity  put 
all  the  land  and  naval  forces  into  requisition,  drained  the  royal 
treasury,  and  engrossed  the  time  and  thoughts  of  the  sovereigns. 

*  Equivalent  to  3195  dollars  of  the  present  time. 


276  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

It  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1497,  that  Isabella  could  find  leisure 
to  enter  fully  into  the  concerns  of  the  new  world.  She  then  took 
them  up  with  a  spirit  that  showed  she  was  determined  to  place 
them  upon  a  substantial  foundation,  as  well  as  clearly  to  define  the 
powers  and  reward  the  services  of  Columbus.  To  her  protecting 
zeal  all  the  provisions  in  favor  of  the  latter  must  be  attributed,  for 
the  king  began  to  look  coldly  on  him,  and  Fonseca,  who  had  most 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  Indies,  was  his  implacable  enemy. 
As  the  expenses  of  the  expeditions  had  hitherto  exceeded  the  re- 
turns, Columbus  was  relieved  of  his  eighth  part  of  the  cost  of 
the  past  enterprises  and  allowed  an  eighth  of  the  gross  proceeds 
for  the  next  three  years,  and  a  tenth  of  the  net  profits.  He  was 
allowed  also  to  establish  a  mayorazgo,  or  entailed  estate,*  in  his 
family,  of  which  he  immediately  availed  himself,  devising  his  estates 
to  his  male  descendants,  with  the  express  charge  that  his  successor 
should  never  use  any  other  title  in  signature  than  simply  "  The 
Admiral."  As  he  had  felt  aggrieved  by  the  royal  licence  for  general 
discovery,  granted  in  1495,  it  was  annulled  as  far  as  it  might  be 
prejudicial  to  his  interests,  or  to  the  previous  grants  made  him  by 
the  crown.  The  titles  and  prerogatives  of  adelantado  were  likewise 
conferred  upon  Don  Bartholomew,  though  the  king  had  at  first 
been  displeased  with  Columbus  for  investing  his  brother  with  dig- 
nities which  were  only  in  the  gift  of  the  sovereign. 

While  all  these  measures  were  taken  for  the  immediate  gratifi- 
cation of  Columbus,  others  were  adopted  for  the  good  of  the  colony. 
The  precise  number  of  persons  was  fixed  who  were  to  be  sent  to  His- 
paniola,  among  whom  were  several  females ;  and  regulations  were 
made  for  their  payment  and  support,  and  for  the  distribution  of 
lands  among  them  to  be  diligently  cultivated.  The  greatest  care 
was  enjoined  likewise  by  Isabella  in  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
natives,  and  the  utmost  lenity  in  collecting  the  tributes  imposed 
upon  them.  With  respect  to  the  government  of  the  colony,  also, 
it  was  generally  recommended  that,  whenever  the  public  safety  did 
not  require  stern  measures,  there  should  be  manifested  a  disposi- 
tion to  indulgent  and  easy  rule. 

When  every  intention  was  thus  shown  on  the  part  of  the  crown 
to  despatch  the  expedition,  unexpected  difficulties  arose  on  the  part 
of  the  public.     The  charm  was  dispelled  which,  in  the  preceding 

*  Entailed  estate,  descending  to  a  single  heir,  free  from  government  tax. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


277 


voyage,  had  made  every  adventurer  crowd  into  the  service  of  Co- 
lumbus ;  the  new-found  world,  instead  of  a  region  of  wealth  and 
enjoyment,  was  now  considered  a  land  of  poverty  and  disaster.  To 
supply  the  want  of  voluntary  recruits,  therefore,  Columbus  pro- 
posed to  transport  to  Hispaniola,  for  a  limited  term  of  years,  all 
criminals  condemned  to  banishment  or  the  galleys,  excepting  such 
as  had  committed  crimes  of  an  atrocious  nature.  This  pernicious 
measure  shows  the  desperate  alternative  to  which  he  was  reduced 
by  the  reaction  of  public  sentiment.  It  proved  a  fruitful  source 
of  misery  and  disaster  to  the  colony ;  and  having  frequently  been 
adopted  by  various  nations,  whose  superior  experience  should  have 
taught  them  better,  has  proved  the  bane  of  many  a  rising  settle- 
ment. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  expedients,  and  the  urgent  repre- 
sentations of  Columbus,  of  the  sufferings  to  which  the  colony  must 
be  reduced  for  want  of  supplies,  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of 
149S,  that  the  two  ships  were  despatched  to  Hispaniola,  under  the 
command  of  Pedro  Fernandez  Coronal.  A  still  further  delay  oc- 
curred in  fitting  out  the  six  ships  that  were  to  bear  Columbus  on 
his  voyage  of  discovery.  His  cold-blooded  enemy  Fonseca,  who  was 
now  bishop  of  Badajoz,  having  the  superintendence  of  Indian 
affairs,  was  enabled  to  impede  and  retard  all  his  plans.  The 
various  officers  and  agents  employed  in  the  concerns  of  the 
armament  were  most  of  them  dependents  and  minions  of  the 
bishop,  and  sought  to  gratify  him,  by  throwing  all  kinds  of 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  Columbus,  treating  him  with  that 
arrogance  which  petty  and  ignoble  men  in  place  are  prone  to 
exercise,  when  they  think  they  can  do  so  with  impunity.  So 
wearied  and  disheartened  did  he  become  by  these  delays,  and 
by  the  prejudices  of  the  fickle  public,  that  he  at  one  time 
thought  of  abandoning  his  discoveries  altogether. 

The  insolence  of  these  worthless  men  harassed  him  to 
the  last  moment  of  his  sojourn  in  Spain,  and  followed  him 
to  the  water's  edge.  One  of  the  most  noisy  and  presuming 
was  one  Ximeno  de  Breviesca,  treasurer  of  Fonseca,  a 
converted  Jew  or  Moor,  and  a  man  of  impudent  front 
and  unbridled  tongue,  who,  echoing  the  sentiment  of  his 
patron  the  bishop,  had  been  loud  in  his  abuse  of  the  ad- 
miral and  his  enterprises. 


278 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


COLUMBUS 
STR 


At  the  very  time  that  Columbus  was  on  the  point  of  embark- 
ing, he  -was  assailed  by  the  insolence  of  this  Ximeno.  Forgetting, 
in  the  hurry  and  indignation  of  the  moment,  his  usual 
self-command,  he  struck  the  despicable  minion  to  the 
earth,  and  spurned  him  with  his  foot,  venting  in  this 
unguarded  paroxysm  the  accumulated  griefs  and  vexa- 
tions which  had  long  rankled  in  his  heart.  This  trans- 
port of  passion,  so  unusual  in  his  well-governed  tem- 
per, was  artfullv  made  use  of  by  Fonseca,  and  others  of 
his  enemies,  to  injure  him  in  the  royal  favor.  The  per- 
sonal castigation  of  a  public  officer  was  represented  as  a 
j  flagrant  instance  of  his  vindictive  temper, 
and  a  corroboration  of  the  charges  of  cruelty 
?Sg$  and  oppression  sent  home  from  the  colony; 
and  we  are  assured  that  certain  humiliat- 
ing measures,  shortly  afterwards  adopted 
towards  him,  were  in  consequence  of  the 
effect  produced  upon  the  sovereigns  by 
these  misrepresentations.  Columbus  him- 
self deeply  regretted  his  indiscretion,  and 
foresaw  the  invidious  use  that  would  be 
made  of  it.  It  would  be  difficult  to  make, 
with  equal  brevity,  a  more  direct  and  af- 
fecting appeal  than  that  contained  in  one 
of  his  letters,  wherein  he  alludes  to  this  affair.  He  entreats  the 
sovereigns  not  to  let  it  be  wrested  to  his  injury  in  their  opinion; 
but  to  remember,  when  any  thing  should  be  said  to  his  disparage- 
ment, that  he  was  "absent,  envied,  and  a  stranger." 


PERSONALLY  CASTIGATES  A    MINION  OF    BISHOP  FONSECA,    BY 
KING  THE  DESPICABLE  DEFENDENT  TO  THE  GROUND. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


THE   DISCOVERY  OF  TRINIDAD  AND  THE  COAST  OF   PARIA.     ARRIVIL  AT  SAN    DOMINGO. 

(1498.) 


N  the  30th  of  May,  1498,  Columbus 
set  sail  from  the  port  of  San 
Lucar  de  Barrameda*,  with 
a  squadron  of  six  vessels,  on 
his  third  voyage  of  discovery. 
From  various  considerations, 
he  was  induced  to  take  a  dif- 
ferent route  from  that  pur- 
sued in  his  former  expeditions. 
He  had  been  assured  by  per- 
sons who  had  traded  to  the  East, 
that  the  rarest  objects  of  commerce, 
such  as  gold,  precious  stones,  drugs,  and 
spices,  were  chiefly  to  be  found  in  the 
regions  about  the  equator,  where  the 
inhabitants  were  black  or  darkly  colored ;  and  that,  until  he  arrived 
among  people  of  such  complexions,  it  was  not  probable  he  would 
find  those  articles  in  great  abundance. 

Columbus  expected  to  find  such  people  more  to  the  south  and 
southeast.  He  recollected  that  the  natives  of  Hispaniola  had 
spoken  of  black  men  who  had  once  come  to  their  island  from  the 
south,  the  heads  of  whose  javelins  were  of  guanin,  or  adulterated 
gold.  The  natives  of  the  Caribbee  Islands,  also,  had  informed 
him  that  a  great  tract  of  the  main  land  lay  to  the  south ;  and  in 
his  preceding  voyage  he  had  remarked  that  Cuba,  which  he  sup- 

*On  the  Guadalquivir. 


(279) 


280  THE   LIFE  AND   VOYAGES 

posed  to  be  the  continent  of  Asia,  swept  off  in  that  direction.  He 
proposed,  therefore,  to  take  his  departure  from  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands,  sailing  to  the  southwest  until  he  should  come  under  the 
equinoctial  line,  then  to  steer  directly  westward,  with  the  favor  of 
the  trade  winds. 

Having  touched  at  the  islands  of  Porto  Santo  and  Madeira,  to 
take  in  wood  and  water,  he  continued  his  course  to  the  Canary 
Islands,  from  whence  he  despatched  three  of  his  ships  direct  for 
Hispaniola,  with  supplies  for  the  colony.  With  the  remaining 
three  he  prosecuted  his  voyage  towards  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands. 
The  ship  in  which  he  sailed  was  decked,  the  other  two  were 
merchant  caravels.  As  he  advanced  within  the  tropics,  the  change 
of  climate,  and  the  close  and  sultry  weather,  brought  on  a  severe 
attack  of  the  gout,  accompanied  by  a  violent  fever;  but  he  still 
enjoyed  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  continued  to  keep 
his  reckoning  and  make  his  observations  with  his  usual  vigilance 
and  minuteness. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  he  took  his  departure  from  the  Cape  de 
Verde  Islands,  and  steered  to  the  southwest  until  he  arrived,  ac- 
cording to  his  observations,  in  the  fifth  degree  of  north  latitude. 
Here  the  wind  suddenly  fell,  and  a  dead  sultry  calm  succeeded. 
The  air  was  like  a  furnace,  the  tar  melted  from  the  sides  of  the 
ships,  the  seams  yawned,  the  salt  meat  became  putrid,  the  wheat 
was  parched  as  if  with  fire,  some  of  the  wine  and  water  casks  burst, 
and  the  heat  in  the  holds  of  the  vessels  was  so  suffocating  that  no 
one  could  remain  below  to  prevent  the  damage  that  was  taking 
place  among  the  sea  stores.  The  mariners  lost  all  strength  and 
spirits.  It  seemed  as  if  the  old  fable  of  the  torrid  zone  was  about 
to  be  realized,  and  that  they  were  approaching  a  fiery  region,  where 
it  would  be  impossible  to  exist.  It  is  true,  the  heavens  became 
overcast,  and  there  were  drizzling  showers,  but  the  atmosphere  was 
close  and  stifling,  and  there  was  that  combination  of  heat  and  moist- 
ure which  relaxes  all  the  energies  of  the  human  frame. 

A  continuation  of  this  weather,  together  with  the  remonstrances 
of  his  crew,  and  his  extreme  suffering  from  the  gout,  ultimately  in- 
duced him  to  alter  his  route,  and  stand  to  the  northwest,  in  hopes 
of  falling  in  with  the  Caribbee  Islands,  where  he  might  repair  his 
ships,  and  obtain  water  and  provisions.  After  sailing  some  distance 
in  this  direction,  through  an  ordeal  of  heats  and  calms,  and  murky, 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


28l 


stifling  atmosphere,  the  ships  all  at  once  emerged  into  a  genial 
region;  a  pleasant,  cooling  breeze  played  over  the  sea,  and  gently 
filled  their  sails ;  the  sky  became  serene  and  clear,  and  the  sun 
shone  forth  with  all  its  splendor,  but  no  longer  with  a  burning 
heat. 

On  the  31st  of  Jul}',  when  there  was  not  above  a  cask  of  water 
remaining  in  each  ship,  a  mariner,  named  Alonzo  Perez,  descried, 
from  the  mast-head,  three  mountains  rising  above  the  horizon.  As 
the  ships  drew  nearer,  these  mountains  proved  to  be  united  at  the 
base.  Columbus,  therefore,  from  a  religious  association  of  ideas, 
gave  this  island  the  name  of 
La  Trinidad  (or  the  Trinity), 
which  it  continues  to  bear  at 
the  present  day. 

Shaping  his  course  for  this 
island,  he  approached  its 
eastern  extremity,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Punta 
de  Galera,  from  a  rock  in  the 
sea  which  resembled  a  galley 
under  sail.  He  then  coasted 
along  the  southern  shore,  be- 
tween Trinidad  and  the  main 
land,  which  he  beheld  on  the 
south,  stretching  to  the  dis- 
tance of  more  than  twenty 
leagues.  It  was  that  low  tract 
of  coast  intersected  by  the 
numerous  branches  of  the 
Orinoco,  but  the  admiral, 
supposing  it  to  be  an  island, 
gave  it  the  name  of  La  Isla 
Santa ;  little  imagining  that 
he  now,  for  the  first  time,  be- 
held that  continent,  that  Terra 
Firma,  which  had  been  the  ob- 
ject of  his  earnest  search. 

He  was  for  several  days 
coasting  the  island  of  Trini- 


16 


COLUMBUS    NEARLY    SWEPT    FROM    HIS    ANCHORS    BY    A    SUDDEN    RUSH    AND    SWELL 
THE    SEA.       SEE    PACE    282.) 


282  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

dad,  and  exploring  the  great  gulf  of  Paria,  which  lies  behind  it,  fancy- 
ing himself  among  islands,  and  that  he  must  find  a  passage  to  the 
open  ocean  by  keeping  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulf.  During  this  time, 
he  was  nearly  swept  from  his  anchors  and  thrown  on  shore  by  a  sud- 
den rush  and  swell  of  the  sea,  near  Point  Arenal,  between  Trinidad 
and  the  main  land,  caused,  as  is  supposed,  by  the  swelling  of  one 
of  the  rivers  which  flow  into  the  gulf.  He  landed  on  the  inside  of 
the  long  promontory  of  Paria,  which  he  mistook  for  an  island,  and 
had  various  interviews  with  the  natives,  from  whom  he  procured 
great  quantities  of  pearls,  many  of  a  fine  size  and  quality. 

There  were  several  phenomena  that  surprised  and  perplexed 
Columbus  in  the  course  of  his  voyage  along  this  coast,  and  which 
gave  rise  to  speculations,  some  ingenious  and  others  fanciful.  He 
was  astonished  at  the  vast  body  of  fresh  water  continually  flowing 
into  the  gulf  of  Paria,  so  as  apparently  to  sweeten  the  whole  sur- 
rounding sea,  and  at  the  constant  current  which  set  through  it, 
which  he  supposed  to  be  produced  by  some  great  river.  He  re- 
marked, with  wondering,  also  the  difference  between  the  climate, 
vegetation,  and  people  of  these  coasts,  and  those  of  the  same  par- 
allel in  Africa.  There  the  heat  was  insupportable,  and  the  land 
parched  and  sterile  ;  the  inhabitants  were  black,  with  crisped  wool, 
ill  shapen,  and  of  dull  and  brutal  natures.  Here,  on  the  contrary, 
although  the  sun  was  in  Leo,  he  found  the  noontide  heat  moderate, 
the  mornings  and  evenings  fresh  and  cool,  the  country  green  and 
fruitful,  covered  with  beautiful  forests,  and  watered  by  innumer- 
able streams  and  fountains ;  the  people  fairer  than  even  those  in 
the  lands  he  had  discovered  further  north,  with  long  hair,  well- 
proportioned  and  graceful  forms,  lively  minds,  and  courageous 
spirits.  In  respect  to  the  vast  body  of  fresh  water,  he  made  one 
of  his  simple  and  great  conclusions.  Such  a  mighty  stream  could 
not  be  produced  by  an  island ;  it  must  be  the  outpouring  of  a  con- 
tinent. He  now  supposed  that  the  various  tracts  of  land  which  he 
had  beheld  about  the  gulf  were  connected  together,  and  continued 
to  an  immense  distance  to  the  south,  far  beyond  the  equator,  into 
that  hemisphere  hitherto  unknown  to  civilized  man.  As  to  the 
mild  temperature  of  the  climate,  the  fresh  verdure  of  the  country, 
and  the  comparative  fairness  of  the  inhabitants,  in  a  parallel  so 
near  to  the  equator,  he  attributed  it  to  the  superior  elevation  of 
this  part  of  the  globe ;  for,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  inge- 


OF   COLUMBUS.  283 

niously  but  erroneously  reasoned  upon,  he  inferred  that  philoso- 
phers had  been  mistaken  in  the  form  of  the  earth,  which,  instead 
of  being  a  perfect  sphere,  he  now  concluded  to  be  shaped  like  a 
pear,  one  part  more  elevated  than  the  rest,  rising  into  the  purer 
regions  of  the  air,  above  the  heats,  and  frosts,  and  storms  of  the 
lower  parts  of  the  earth.  He  imagined  this  apex  to  be  situated 
about  the  equinoctial  line,  in  the  interior  of  this  vast  continent, 
which  he  considered  the  extremity  of  the  East ;  that  on  this  sum- 
mit, as  it  were,  of  the  earth,  was  situated  the  terrestrial  paradise; 
and  that  the  vast  stream  of  fresh  water,  which  poured  into  the  gulf 
of  Paria,  issued  from  the  fountain  of  the  tree  of  life,  in  the  midst 
of  the  garden  of  Eden.  Extravagant  as  this  speculation  may  seem 
at  the  present  day,  it  was  grounded  on  the  writings  of  the  most 
sage  and  learned  men  of  those  times,  among  whom  the  situation  of 
the  terrestrial  paradise  had  long  been  a  subject  of  discussion  and 
controversy,  and  by  several  of  whom  it  was  supposed  to  be  on  a 
vast  mountain,  in  the  remote  parts  of  the  East. 

The  mind  of  Columbus  was  so  possessed  by  these  theories, 
and  he  was  so  encouraged  by  the  quantities  of  pearls  which  he  had 
met  with,  for  the  first  time  in  the  new  world,  that  he  would  gladly 
have  followed  up  his  discovery,  not  doubting  that  the  country 
would  increase  in  the  value  of  its  productions  as  he  approached 
the  equator.  The  sea  stores  of  his  ships,  however,  were  almost 
exhausted,  and  the  various  supplies  with  which  they  were  freighted 
for  the  colony  were  in  danger  of  spoiling.  He  was  suffering,  also, 
extremely  in  his  health.  Besides  the  gout,  which  had  rendered 
him  a  cripple  for  the  greater  part  of  the  voyage,  he  was  afflicted 
by  a  complaint  in  his  eyes,  caused  by  fatigue  and  overwatching, 
which  almost  deprived  him  of  sight.  He  determined,  therefore,  to 
hasten  to  Hispaniola,  intending  to  repose  there  from  his  fatigues, 
and  recruit  his  health,  while  he  should  send  his  brother,  the  ade- 
lantado,  to  complete  this  important  discovery. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  therefore,  he  left  the  gulf,  by  a  narrow 
strait  between  the  promontory  of  Paria  and  the  island  of  Trinidad. 
This  strait  is  beset  with  small  islands,  and  the  current  which  sets 
through  the  gulf  is  so  compressed  between  them  as  to  cause  a 
turbulent  sea,  with  great  foaming  and  roaring,  as  if  rushing  over 
rocks  and  shoals.  The  admiral  conceived  himself  in  imminent 
danger  of  shipwreck  when  passing  through  this  strait,  and  gave  it 


284 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


the  name  of  La  Boca  del  Drago,  or  the  Mouth  of  the  Dragon. 
After  reconnoitering  the  coast  to  the  westward,  as  far  as  the  islands 
of  Cubaga  and  Margarita,  and  convincing  himself  of  its  being  a 
continent,  he  bore  away  for  Hispaniola,  for  the  river  Ozema,  where 
he  expected  to  find  a  new  settlement,  which  he  had  instructed  his 
brother  to  form  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines.  He  was  borne 
far  to  the  westward  by  the  currents,  but  at  length  reached  his  de- 
sired haven,  where  he  arrived,  haggard,  emaciated,  and  almost 
blind,  and  was  received  with  open  arms  by  the  adelantado.  The 
brothers  were  strongly  attached  to  each  other;  Don  Bartholomew 
had  a  great  deference  for  the  brilliant  genius,  the  enlarged  mind, 
and  the  commanding  reputation  of  his  brother;  while  the  latter 
placed  great  reliance,  in  times  of  difficulty,  on  the  worldly  knowl- 
edge, the  indefatigable  activity,  and  the  lion-hearted  courage  of  the 
adelantado.  They  had  both,  during  their  long  separation,  experi- 
enced the  need  of  each  other's  sympathy  and  support. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    THE    ADELANTADO 


OLUMBUS  had  anticipated  a  temporary  repose 
from  his  toils  on  arriving  at   Hispaniola; 
but    a-  new    scene  of   trouble  and    anxiety 
opened  upon  him,  which  was   destined    to 
affect  all  his  future  fortunes.     To  explain 
this,  it  is  necessary  to  state  the   occur- 
rences of  the  island  during  his  long  deten- 
tion in  Spain. 

When  he   sailed   for  Europe  in    March, 
1496,  his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew,  im- 
mediately   proceeded   to    execute  his    in- 
structions with  respect  to  the  gold  mines  of 
Hayna.     He  built  a  fortress  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, which  he  named  St.  Christoval, 


A  TAMEMES,  OH  INDIAN  PORTER. 


and  another 
fortress  not 
far  off,  on 
the  eastern 
bank  of  the 
Ozema',  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  village  inhabited  by  the 
female  cacique  who  had  first  given  in- 
telligence of  the  mines  to  Miguel  Diaz. 
This  fortress  was  called  San  Domingo, 
and  was  the  origin  of  the  city  which 
still  bears  that  name. 


VI 


m> 


Rri/u.-U  dr  Tos 


<•••  CS5  It' ,  »\  ,  f-V,      If.   -y  » <j 


iraxito  s 


MODERN    PLAN    OF    THE    CITY    OF   S.    DOMINGO. 


(285) 


2S6 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


Having  garrisoned  these  fortresses,  and  made  arrangements 
for  working  the  mines,  the  indefatigable  adelantado  set  out  to  visit 
the  dominions  of  Behechio,  which  had  not  as  yet  been  reduced  to 
obedience.  This  cacique,  as  has  been  mentioned,  reigned  over 
Xaragua,  a  province  comprising  almost  the  whole  of  the  west  end 
of  the  island,  including  Cape  Tiburon.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  fertile  districts.  The  inhabitants 
were  finely  formed,  had  a  noble  air,  a  more  agree- 
able elocution,  and  more  soft  and  graceful  man- 
ners, than  the  natives  of  the  other  part  of  the 
island.  The  Indians  of  Hayti  generally  placed 
their  elysium,  or  paradise  of  happy  spirits,  in 
the  delightful  valleys  that  bordered  the  great 
lake  of  Xaragua. 

With  Behechio  resided  his  sister  Anacaona, 
wife  of  the  late  formidable  Caouabo,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  females  in  the  island,  of  great 
natural  grace  and  dignity,  and  superior  intelli- 
gence ;  her  name  in  the  Indian  language 
signified  Golden   Flower.      She  had 
&&L   taken  refuge  with  her  brother,  after 
the    capture    and    ruin  of   her  hus- 
band,   but    appears    never   to    have 
entertained  any  vindictive   feelings 
against    the    Spaniards,    whom    she 
regarded  with   great   admiration    as 
almost  superhuman  beings.    On  the 
contrary,  she  counseled  her  brother, 
over  whom  she  had  great  influence, 
to  take  warning  by  the  fate  of  her 
husband,     and     to    conciliate     their 
friendship. 

Don  Bartholomew  entered  the 
province  of  Xaragua  at  the  head 
of  an  armed  band,  putting  his  cavalry  in  the  advance,  and  march- 
ing with  banners  displayed,  and  the  sound  of  drum  and  trumpet. 
Behechio  met  him  with  a  numerous  force,  but  being  assured  that 
he  came  merely  on  a  friendly  visit,  he  dismissed  his  army,  and  con- 
ducted the  adelantado  to  his  residence  in  a  large  town,  near  a  deep 
bay  called  at  present  the  bight  of  Leagon. 


INHABITANTS  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF  XARAGUA. 

I    FROM    PHOTOS   OF  THE  CARIBS  ON    EXHIBITION   IN   1892  IN   THE  JARDIN    D' ACCLIMA- 
TION,  PARIS,  AND  DATA  OBTAINED  FROM  PETER  MARTVR. 


< 

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*  I 

S  1 

Q  fc. 

J  P 

O  3 

W  "   ' 

X  a  a 

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>  5 
«  Sa 
-.  s 

P  o  , 

>  "1  > 

—  M     R 

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o  2  a 

W  u    a 

5  <  S 


§ 
o 

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n 

z 

o 
a 


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(2S7) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


2S9 


As  they  approached,  thirty  young  females,  of  the  cacique's 
household,  beautifully  formed,  came  forth  to  meet  them,  waviug 
palm  branches,  and  dancing  and  singing  their  areytos,  or  tradition- 
ary ballads.  When  they  came  before  Don  Bartholomew,  they  knelt 
and  laid  their  palm  branches  at  his  feet.  After  these  came  the 
beautiful  Anacaoua,  reclining  on  a  litter,  borne  by  six  Indians. 
She  was  lightly  clad  in  a  robe  of  various  colored  cotton,  with  a 
fragrant  garland  of  red  and  white  flowers  round  her  head,  and 
wreaths  of  the  same  round  her  neck  and  arms.  She  received  the 
adelantado  with  that  natural  grace  and  courtesy  for  which  she  was 
celebrated. 

For  several  days  Don  Bartholomew  remained  in  Xaragua,  en- 
tertained by  the  cacique  and  his  sister  with  banquets,  national 
games,  and  dances,  and  other  festivities ;  then  having  arranged  for 
a  periodical  tribute  to  be  paid  in  cotton,  hemp,  and  cassava  bread, 
the  productions  of  the  surrounding  country,  he  took  a  friendly 
leave  of  his  hospitable  entertainers,  and  set  out  with  his  little  army 
for  Isabella. 

He  found  the  settlement  in  a  sickly  state,  and  suffering  from 
a  scarcity  of  provisions  ;  he  distributed,  therefore,  all  that  were  too 
feeble  to  labor  or  bear  arms  into  the  interior,  where  they  might 
have  better  air  and  more  abundant  food;  and  at  the  same  time  he 
established  a  chain  of  fortresses  between  Isabella  and  San  Domingo. 
Insurrections  broke  out  among  the  natives  of  the  vega,  caused  by 
their  impatience  of  tribute,  by  the  outrages  of  some  of  the  Span- 
iards, and  by  a  severe  punishment  inflicted  on  certain  Indians  for 
the  alleged  violation  of  a  chapel.  Guarionex,  a  man  naturally 
moderate  and  pacific,  was  persuaded  by  his  brother  caciques  to  take 
up  arms,  and  a  combination  was  formed  among  them  to  rise  sud- 
denly upon  the  Spaniards,  massacre  them,  and  destroy  Fort  Con- 
ception, which  was  situated  in  the  vega.  By  some  means  the  gar- 
rison received  intimation  of  the  conspiracy.  They  immediately 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  adelantado,  imploring  prompt  assistance. 
How  to  convey  the  letter  in  safety  was  an  anxious  question,  for  the 
natives  had  discovered  that  these  letters  had  a  wonderful  power  of 
communicating  intelligence,  and  fancied  that  they  could  talk.  An 
Indian  undertook  to  be  the  bearer  of  it.  He  inclosed  it  in  a  staff, 
and  set  out  on  his  journey.  Being  intercepted,  he  pretended  to  be 
dumb  and  lame,  leaning  upon  his  staff  for  support.     He  was  suf- 


290 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


fered  to  depart,  and  limped  forward  until  out  of  sight,  when  he 
resumed  his  speed,  and  bore  the  letter  safely  and  expeditiously  to 
San  Domingo. 

The  adelantado,  with  his  accustomed  promptness,  set  out 
with  a  bod}r  of  troops  for  the  fortress.  By  a  rapid  and  well- 
concerted  stratagem  he  surprised  the  leaders  in  the  night,  in  a 
village  in  which  the}'  were  sleeping,  and  carried  them  all  off  cap- 
tive, seizing  upon  Guarionex  with  his  own  hand.  He  completed  his 
enterprise  with  spirit,  sagacity,  and  moderation.  Informing  himself 
of  the  particulars  of  the  conspiracy,  he  punished  two  caciques,  the 

principal  movers  of  it,  with  death,  and  par- 
doned all  the  rest.  Finding,  moreover,  that 
Guarionex  had  been  chiefly  incited  to  hos- 
tility by  an  outrage  committed  by  a  Spaniard 
on  his  favorite  wife,  he  inflicted  punishment 
on  the  offender.  The  heart  of  Guarionex 
was  subdued  by  the  unexpected  clemency  of 
the  adelantado,  and  he  made  a  speech  to  his 
subjects  in  praise  of  the  Spaniards.  They 
listened  to  him  with  attention,  and  when  he 
had  concluded  bore  him  off  on  their  shoul- 
ders with  songs  and  shouts  of  joy,  and  for 
some  time  the  tranquillity  of  the  vega  was 
restored. 

About  this  time,  receiving  information 
from  Behechio,  cacique  of  Xaragua,  that  his 
tribute  in  cotton  and  provisions  was  ready 
for  delivery,  the  adelantado  marched  there, 
at  the  head  of  his  forces,  to  receive  it. 
So  large  a  quantity  of  cotton  and  cassava  bread  was  collected 
together,  that  Don  Bartholomew  had  to  send  to  the  settlement 
of  Isabella  for  a  caravel  to  be  freighted  with  it.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  utmost  kindness  was  lavished  upon  their  guests  by  these 
gentle  and  generous  people.  The  troubles  which  distracted  the 
other  parts  of  devoted  Hayti  had  not  yet  reached  this  pleasant 
region  ;  and  when  the  Spaniards  regarded  the  fertility  and  sweet- 
ness of  the  country,  bordering  on  a  tranquil  sea,  the  kindness  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  beauty  of  the  women,  they  pronounced  it 
a  perfect  paradise. 


THE  ADELANTADO  SETS  OUT  WITH  A   BODY  OF  TROOPS  FOR  THE  RELIEF 
OF  FORT  CONCEPTION. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


291 


When  the  caravel  arrived  011  the  coast,  it  was  regarded  by 
Anacaona  and  her  brother  with  awe  and  wonder.  Behechio  visited 
it  with  his  canoes;  but  his  sister,  with  their  female  attendants, 
were  conveyed  on  board  in  the  boat  of  the  adelantado.  As  they 
approached,  the  caravel  fired  a  salute.  At  the  sound  of  the  cannon, 
and  the  sight  of  the  volumes  of  smoke,  bursting  from  the  side  of 
the  ship  and  rolling  along  the  sea,  Anacaona,  overcome  with  dis- 
may, fell  into  the  arms  of  the  adelantado,  and  her  attendants  would 
have  leaped  overboard,  but  were  reassured  by  the  cheerful  words  of 
Don  Bartholomew.  As  they  drew  nearer  the  vessel,  several  instru- 
ments of  martial  music  struck  up, 
with  which  they  were  greatly  de- 
lighted. Their  admiration  in- 
creased, on  entering  on  board  ;  but 
when  the  anchor  was  weighed,  the 
sails  filled  by  a  gentle  breeze,  and 
they  beheld  this  vast  mass  veering 
from  side  to  side,  apparently  by  its 
own  will,  and  playing  like  a  huge 
monster  on  the  deep,  the  brother  and 
sister  remained  gazing  at  each  other 
in  mute  astonishment.  Nothing 
seems  ever  to  have  filled  the  mind  of 
the  savage  with  more  wonder  than 
that  beautiful  triumph  of  human  in- 
genuity— a  ship  under  sail. 

While  the  adelantado  was  thus 
absent  quelling  insurrections,  and 
making  skillful  arrangements  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  colony,  and  the  advantage  of  the  crown,  new  mis- 
chiefs were  fermenting  in  the  factious  settlement  of  Isabella.  The 
prime  mover  was  Francisco  Roldan,  a  man  who  had  been  raised  by 
Columbus  from  poverty  and  obscurity,  and  promoted  from  one 
office  to  another,  until  he  had  appointed  him  alcalde  mayor,  or  chief 
judge  of  the  island.  He  was  an  uneducated  man,  but  of  strong 
natural  talents,  great  assiduity,  and  intrepid  impudence.  He  had 
seen  his  benefactor  return  to  Spain,  apparently  under  a  cloud  of 
disgrace,  and,  considering  him  a  fallen  man,  began  to  devise  how 
he  might  profit  by  his  downfall.     He  was  intrusted  with  au  office 


OCEAN    BOAT,    END   OF    THE    15tm    CENTURY,    TACKING    BEFORE    THE    WIND. 


292 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


inferior  only  to  that  of  the  adelantado  ;  the  brothers  of  Columbus 
were  highly  unpopular ;  he  imagined  it  possible  to  ruin  them,  both 
with  the  colonists  and  with  the  government  at  home,  and  by  dex- 
terous management  to  work  his  way  into  a  command  of  the  colony,, 
For  this  purpose  he  mingled  among  the  common  people,  threw  out 
suggestions  that  the  admiral  was  in  disgrace,  and  would  never 
return  ;  railed  at  the  adelantado  and  Don  Diego  as  foreigners,  who 
took  no  interest  in  their  welfare,  but  used  them  merehy  as  slaves  to 
build  houses  and  fortresses  for  them,  or  to  swell  their  state,  and 
secure  their  power  as  they  marched  about  the  island,  enriching 
themselves  with  the  spoils  of  the  caciques.  By  these  seditious  in- 
sinuations, he  exasperated  their  feelings  to  such  a  degree,  that  they 
at  one  time  formed  a  conspiracy  to  assassinate  the  adelantado,  but 
it  was  happily  disconcerted  by  accident. 

When  the  caravel  returned  from  Xaragua,  laden  with  pro- 
visions, it  was  dismantled  by  order  of  Don  Diego,  and  drawn  upon 
the  beach.  Roldan  immediately  seized  upon  this  circumstance  to 
awaken  new  suspicions.  He  said  the  true  reason  for  dismantling 
the  caravel  was  to  prevent  any  of  the  colonists  returning  in  it  to 
Spain,  to  represent  the  oppressions  under  which  they  suffered.  He 
advised  them  to  launch  and  take  possession  of  the  vessel,  as  the 
only  means  of  regaining   their  independence.     They   might  then 

throw  off  the  tyranny  of  these  upstart  for- 
eigners, and  might  lead  a  life  of  ease  and 
quiet,  employing  the  Indians  as  slaves,  and 
enjoying  unlimited  indulgence  with  respect 
to  the  Indian  women. 

Don  Diego  was  informed  of  these  sedi- 
tious movements,  but  he  was  of  a  mild,  pacific 
nature,  and  deficient  in  energy.  Fearing  to 
come  to  an  open  rupture  in  the  mutinous 
state  of  the  colony,  he  thought  to  divert 
Roldan  from  his  schemes  by  giving  him  dis- 
tant and  active  employment.  He  detached 
him  suddenly,  therefore,  with  a  small  force,  to 
overawe  the  Indians  of  the  vega,  who  had 
shown  a  disposition  to  revolt.  Roldan  made 
use  of  this  opportunity  to  organize  an 
armed    faction.      He  soon  got  seventy  well- 


FRANCISCO   ROLDAN. 


OK    COLUMBUS.  293 

armed  and  resolute  men  at  his  command,  disposed  to  go  all 
desperate  lengths  with  him,  and  he  made  friends  and  parti- 
sans among  the  discontented  caciques,  promising  to  free  them 
from  tribute.  He  now  threw  off  the  mask,  and  openly  set  the 
adelantado  and  his  brother  at  defiance,  as  men  who  had  no  au- 
thority from  the  crown,  but  were  appointed  by  Columbus,  who 
was  himself  in  disgrace.  He  pretended  always  to  act  in  his  official 
capacity,  and  to  do  every  thing  from  loyal  motives,  and  every  act 
of  open  rebellion  was  accompanied  with  shouts  of  "Long  live  the 
king!"  Having  endeavored  repeatedly  to  launch  the  caravel,  but 
in  vain,  he  broke  open  the  royal  stores,  and  supplied  his  followers 
with  arms,  clothing,  and  provisions,  and  then  marched  off  to  the 
vega,  and  attempted  to  surprise  and  get  possession  of  Fort  Con- 
ception, but  was  happily  foiled  by  its  commander,  Miguel  Ballester, 
a  stanch  old  soldier,  both  resolute  and  wary,  who  kept  the  enemy  at 
bay  until  succor  should  arrive. 

The  conspiracy  had  attained  a  formidable  head  during  the  ab- 
sence of  the  adelantado,  several  persons  of  consequence  having 
joined  it,  among  whom  was  Adrian  de  Moxica,  and  Diego  de  Esco- 
bar, the  latter  being  alcayde  of  the  fortress  of  La  Madelena.  Don 
Bartholomew  was  perplexed  at  first,  and  could  not  act  with  his 
usual  vigor  and  decision,  not  knowing  in  whom  he  could  confide, 
or  how  far  the  conspiracy  had  extended.  On  receiving  tidings, 
however,  from  Miguel  Ballester,  of  the  danger  of  Fort  Conception, 
he  threw  himself,  with  what  forces  he  could  collect,  into  that  fort- 
ress, and  held  a  parley  with  Roldan  from  one  of  the  windows, 
ordering  him  to  surrender  his  staff  of  office  as  alcalde  mayor,*  and 
submit  peaceably  to  superior  authority.  All  threats  and  remon- 
strances, however,  were  vain;  Roldan  persisted  in  his  rebellion. 
He  represented  the  adelantado  as  the  tyrant  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
oppressor  of  the  Indians ;  and  himself  as  the  redresser  of  wrongs 
and  champion  of  the  injured.  He  sought,  by  crafty  emissaries,  to 
corrupt  the  garrison  of  Fort  Conception,  and  seduce  them  to  de- 
sert, and  laid  plans  to  surprise  and  seize  upon  the  adelantado, 
should  he  leave  the  fortress. 

The  affairs  of  the  island  were  now  in  a  lamentable  situation. 
The  Indians,  perceiving  the  dissensions  among  the  Spaniards,  and 

*  Equivalent  to  our  justice  of  the  peace,  but  with  greater  powers.  German,  schulze, 
dorfrichter. 


294  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

encouraged  by  the  protection  of  Roldan,  ceased  to  send  in  their 
tributes,  and  threw  off  allegiance  to  the  government.  Roldan's 
band  daily  gained  strength,  and  ranged  insolently  and  at  large 
about  the  country ;  while  the  Spaniards,  who  remained  loyal,  fearing 
conspiracies  among  the  natives,  had  to  keep  under  shelter  of  the 
forts.  Munitions  of  all  kinds  were  rapidly  wasting,  and  the  spirits 
of  the  well-affected  were  sinking  into  despondency.  The  adelan- 
tado  himself  remained  shut  up  in  Fort  Conception,  doubtful  of  the 
fidelity  of  his  own  garrison,  and  secretly  informed  of  the  plots  to 
capture  or  destroy  him,  should  he  venture  abroad.  Such  was  the 
desperate  state  to  which  the  colony  was  reduced  by  the  long  deten- 
tion of  Columbus  in  Spain,  and  the  impediments  thrown  in  the 
way  of  all  his  endeavors  to  send  out  supplies  and  reinforcements. 
Fortunately,  at  this  critical  juncture,  the  arrival  of  two  ships,  under 
command  of  Pedro  Hernandez  Coronal,  at  the  port  of  San  Domingo, 
with  troops  and  provisions,  strengthened  the  hands  of  Don  Bar- 
tholomew. The  royal  confirmation  of  his  title  and  authority  of 
adelantado  at  once  put  an  end  to  all  question  of  the  legitimacy  of 
his  power,  and  secured  the  fidelity  of  his  soldiers ;  and  the  tidings 
that  the  admiral  was  in  high  favor  at  court,  and  on  the  point  of 
coming  out  with  a  powerful  squadron,  struck  consternation  into 
the  rebels,  who  had  presumed  upon  his  having  fallen  into  disgrace. 

The  adelantado  immediately  hastened  to  San  Domingo,  nor 
was  there  any  attempt  made  to  molest  him  on  his  march.  When 
he  found  himself  once  more  secure,  his  magnanimity  prevailed 
over  his  indignation,  and  he  sent  Pedro  Hernandez  Coronal,  to 
offer  Roldan  and  his  band  amnesty  for  all  offenses,  on  condition  of 
instant  obedience.  Roldan  feared  to  venture  into  his  power,  and 
determined  to  prevent  the  emissary  from  communicating  with  his 
followers,  lest  they  should  be  induced  to  return  to  their  allegiance. 
When  Coronal  approached  the  encampment  of  the  rebels,  there- 
fore, he  was  opposed  in  a  narrow  pass  by  a  body  of  archers  with 
their  cross-bows  levelled.  "Halt  there, '  traitor!"  cried  Roldan: 
"  had  you  arrived  eight  days  later,  we  should  all  have  been  united." 

It  was  in  vain  that  Coronal  endeavored  to  win  this  turbulent 
man  from  his  career.  He  professed  to  oppose  only  the  tyranny 
and  misrule  of  the  adelantado,  but  to  be  ready  to  submit  to  the 
admiral  on  his  arrival,  and  he  and  his  principal  confederates  wrote 
letters  to  that  effect    to  their  friends  in  San  Domingo. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


295 


When  Coronal  returned  with  accounts  of  Roldan's  contumacy, 
the  adelantado  proclaimed  him  and  his  followers  traitors.  That 
shrewd  rebel,  however,  did  not  suffer  his  men  to  remain  within  the 
reach  either  of  promise  or  menace.  He  proposed  to  them  to  march 
off,  and  establish  themselves  in  the  remote  province  of  Xaragua. 
The  Spaniards  who  had  been  there,  had  given  the  most  alluring 
accounts  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  and  above  all  of  the 
beauty  of  .the  women,  for  they  had  been  captivated  by  the  naked 
charms  of  the  dancing  nymphs  of  Xaragua.  In  this  delightful 
region,  emancipated  from  the  iron  rule  of  the  adelantado,  and  re- 
lieved from  the  necessity  of  irksome  labor,  they  might  lead  a  life 
of  perfect  freedom  and  indulgence,  with  a  world'  of  beauty  at  their 
command.  In  short,  Roldan  drew  a  picture  of  loose  sensual  enjoy- 
ment, such  as  he  knew  to  be  irresistible  with  men  of  idle  and  dis- 
solute habits.  His  followers  acceded  with  joy  to  his  proposition ; 
so,  putting  himself  at  their  head,  he  marched  away  for  Xaragua. 

Scarcely  had  the  rebels  departed,  when  fresh  insurrections 
broke  out  among  the  Indians  of  the  vega.  The  cacique  Guarionex, 
moved  by  the  instigations  of  Roldan,  and  forgetful  of  his  gratitude 
to  Don  Bartholomew,  entered  into  a  new  league  to  destroy  the 
Spaniards,  and  surprise  Fort  Conception.  The  plot  exploded  be- 
fore its  time,  and  was  defeated ;  and  Guarionex,  hearing  that  the 
adelantado  was  on  the  march  for  the  vega,  fled  to  the  mountains 
of  Ciguay,  with  his  family,  and  a  small  band  of  faithful  followers. 
The  inhabitants  of  these  mountains  were  the  most  robust  and 
hardy  tribe  of  the  island,  and  the  same  who  had  skirmished  with  the 
Spaniards  in  the  Gulf  of  Samana,  in  the  course  of  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbus.  The  reader  may  remember  the  frank  and  confiding  faith 
with  which  their  cacique  trusted  himself  on  board  of  the  caravel  of 
the  admiral,  the  day  after  the  skirmish.  It  was  to  this  same  cacique, 
named  Mayonabex,  that  the  fugitive  chieftain  of  the  vega  applied 
for  refuge,  and    he   received  a  ' 

promise  of  protection. 

Indignant  at  finding  his  for- 
mer clemency  of  no  avail,  the 
adelantado  pursued  Guarionex 
to  the  mountains,  at  the  head  of 
ninety  men,  a  few  cavalry,  and 
a  body  of   Indians.     It  was    a 


THE    PURSUIT   OF    THE    CACIQUE    GUARIONEX 


296 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


rugged  and  difficult  enterprise  ;  the  troops  had  to  climb  rocks,  wade 
rivers,  and  make  their  way  through  tangled  forests,  almost  impervious 
to  men  in  armor,  encumbered  with  targets,  crossbows,  and  lances. 
They  were  continually  exposed,  also,  to  the  ambushes  of  the  Indians, 
who  would  rush  forth  with  furious  yells,  discharge  their  weapons,  and 
then  take  refuge  again  among  rocks  and  thickets,  where  it  was  in 

vain  to  follow  them.     Don  Bartholomew  ar- 
rived, at  length,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape 
Cabrou,  the  residence  of  Mayonabex,  and  sent 
a    messenger,  demanding    the    surrender  of 
Guarionex,  promising  friendship  in  case  of 
compliance,  but  threatening  to  lay  waste  his 
territory  with  fire  and  sword,  in  case  of  refusal. 
"  Tell  the  Spaniards,"  said  the  cacique,  in  re- 
ply,  "that    they    are    tyrants,  usurpers,  and 
shedders  of  innocent  blood,  and  I  desire 
not  their  friendship.    Guarionex  is  a  good 
man,  and  my  friend.     He  has  fled  to  me 
for  refuge  ;  I  have  promised  him  protec- 
tion, and  I  will  keep  my  word." 

The  cacique,  in  fact,  adhered  to  his 
promise  with  admirable  faith.    His  vil- 
lages were  burnt,  his  territories  were 


ravaged,  himself  and  his  family 
driven  to  dens  and  caves  of  the 
mountains,  and  his  sub- 
jects assailed  him  with 
clamors,  urging  him  to 
give  up  the  fugitive, 
who  was  bringing  such 
ruin  upon  their  tribe. 
It  was  all  in  vain.  He 
was  ready,  he  declared, 
to  abide  all  evils,  rather 
than  it  should  ever  be 
said  Mayonabex  be- 
trayed his  guest. 

For  three  months  the 
adelantado  hunted  these 


A    MOUNTAINEER    OF    CIGUAY. 

REDRAWN    FROM    PHOTOS   OF   THE   CARISS   ON    EXHIBITION    IN    THE   JAROIN    D'ACCLIMATION,    PARIS,    1892,    ANO 
DATA    OBTAINED    FROM     PETER    MARTYR 


OF    COLUMBUS.  297 

caciques  among  the  mountains,  during  which  time  he  and  his 
soldiers  were  almost  worn  out  with  toil  and  hunger,  and  exposures 
of  all  kind.  The  retreat  of  Mayonabex  was  at  length  discovered. 
Twelve  Spaniards,  disguising  themselves  as  Indians,  and  wrapping 
their  swords  in  palm  leaves,  came  upon  him  secretly,  and  surprised 
and  captured  him,  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  a  few  attendants. 
The  adelantado  returned,  with  his  prisoners,  to  Fort  Conception, 
where  he  afterwards  released  them  all,  excepting  the  cacique,  whom 
he  detained  as  a  hostage  for  the  submission  of  his  tribe.  The  unfor- 
tunate Guarionex  still  lurked  among  the  caverns  of  the  mountains, 
but  was  driven,  by  hunger,  to  venture  down  occasionally  into  the 
plain,  in  quest  of  food.  His  haunts  were  discovered,  he  was  way- 
laid and  captured  by  a  party  of  Spaniards,  and  brought  in  chains 
to  Fort  Conception.  After  his  repeated  insurrections,  and  the  ex- 
traordinary zeal  displayed  in  his  pursuit,  he  anticipated  death  from 
the  vengeance  of  the  adelantado.  Don  Bartholomew,  however, 
though  stern  in  his  policy,  was  neither  vindictive  nor  cruel;  he 
contented  himself  with  detaining  him  a  prisoner,  to  insure  the 
tranquillity  of  the  vega ;  and  then  returned  to  San  Domingo,  where, 
shortly  afterwards,  he  had  the  happiness  of  welcoming  the  arrival 
of  his  brother,  the  admiral,  after  a  separation  of  nearly  two  years 
and  a  half. 


M  Z?1i-**?~^**- " 


ROLDAN'S    SHAMELESS    RABBLE,  WITH    THE    INDIAN    SLAVES    DISTRIBUTED    AMONG    THEM,    MOVE    INTO   THEIR 
NEW    HOMES    IN    BONAO    AND    THE    VEGA    ROYAL.     (See   Page  305.) 


(298) 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


REBELLION    OF  ROLDAN.      (1498.) 


NE  of  the  first  measures  of  Columbus 
on  his  arrival,  was  to  issue  a 
proclamation,  approving  of 
all  that  the  adelantado  had 
done,  and  denouncing  Roldan 
and  his  associates.  That  tur- 
bulant  man  had  proceeded  to 
Xaragua,  where  he  had  been 
kindly  received  by  the  natives. 
A  circumstance  occurred  to  add 
to  his  party  and  his  resources.  The 
three  caravels  detached  by  Columbus  from 
the  Canary  Islands,  and  freighted  with  supplies,  having  been  car- 
ried far  west  of  their  reckoning  by  the  currents,  arrived  on  the  coast 
of  Xaragua.  The  rebels  were  at  first  alarmed  lest  there  should  be 
vessels  despatched  in  pursuit  of  them.  Roldan,  who  was  as  saga- 
cious as  he  was  bold,  soon  divined  the  truth.  Enjoining  the  ut- 
most secrecy  on  his  men,  he  went  on  board,  and  pretending  to  be  in 
command  at  that  end  of  the  island,  succeeded  in  procuring  a  supply 
of  arms  and  military  stores,  and  in  making  partisans  among  the 
crews,  many  of  whom  were  criminals  and  vagabonds  from  Spanish 
prisons,  shipped  in  compliance  with  the  admiral's  ill-judged  propo- 
sition. It  was  not  until  the  third  day  that  Alonzo  Sanchez  de 
Carvajal,  the  most  intelligent  of  the  three  captains,  discovered  the 
real  character  of  the  guests  he  had  entertained,  but  the  mischief 
was  then  effected. 


17 


(2991 


3oo 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


As  the  ships  were  detained  by  contrary  winds,  it  was  arranged 
among  the  captains  that  a  large  number  of  the  people  should  be 
conducted  by  land  to  San  Domingo,  by  Juan  Antonio  Colombo,  cap- 
tain of  one  of  the  caravels,  and  a  relation  of  the  admiral.  He  ac- 
cordingly landed  with  forty  men,  well  armed,  but  was  astonished  to 
find  himself  suddenly  deserted  by  all  his  party  excepting  eight. 
The  deserters  joined  the  rebels,  who  received  them  with  shouts  of 
exultation.  Juan  Antonio,  grieved  and  disconcerted,  returned  on 
board  with  the  few  who  remained  faithful.  Fearing  further  deser- 
tions, the  ships  immediately  put  to  sea;  but  Carvajal,  giving  his 
vessel  in  charge  to  his  officers,  landed  and  remained  with  the 
rebels,  fancying  he  had  perceived  signs  of  wavering  in  Rol- 
dan  and  some  of  his  associates,  and  that,  by  earnest 
persuasion,  he  might  induce  them  to  return  to  their 
allegiance.  The  certainty  that  Colum- 
bus was  actually  on  the  way  to  the  isl- 
and, with  additional  forces,  and  aug- 
mented authority,  had,  in  fact, 
operated  strongly  on  their  minds  ; 
but  all  attempts  to  produce  imme- 
diate submission  were  in  vain. 
Roldan  promised  that  the 
moment  he  heard  of  the  ar- 
rival of  Columbus,  he  would 
repair  to  the  neighborhood 
of  San  Domingo,  to  be  at 
hand  to  state  his  grievances, 
and  to  enter  into  a  negotia- 
tion for  the  adjustment  of 
all  differences.  He  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  same  purport 
to  be  delivered  to  the  ad- 
miral. With  this  Carvajal 
departed,  and  was  escorted 
to  within  six  leagues  of  San 
Domingo,  by  six  of  the  reb- 
els. On  reaching  that  place 
he  found  Columbus  already 
arrived,    and    delivered    to 


THE  TRUSTY  ALON20  SANCHEZ  DE  CARVAJAL  LANDS  AMONG   THE  REBELS  IN 
ORDER  TO  RECONCILE  THEM  TO  THE  ADMIRAL. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


301 


him  the  letter  of  Roldan,  expressing  at  the  same  time  an  opinion, 
that  the  insurgents  might  easily  be  brought  to  their  allegiance  by 
an  assurance  of  amnesty.  In  fact,  the  rebels  soon  began  to  assemble 
at  the  village  of  Bonao,  in  a  fine  valley  of  the  same  name,  about 
twenty  leagues  from  San  Domingo,  and  ten  from  Fort  Conception. 
Here  they  made  their  headquarters  at  the  house  of  Pedro  Re- 
guelme,  one -of  the  ringleaders. 

Columbus  immediately  wrote  to  Miguel  Ballester,  the  com- 
mander of  Fort  Conception,  advising  him  to  be  on  his  guard.  He 
empowered  him  to  have  an  interview  with  Roldan,  to  offer  him  full 
pardon  on  condition  of  his  immediate  return  to  duty,  and  to  invite 
him  to  repair  to  San  Domingo  to  treat  with  the  admiral,  under  a 
solemn,  and,  if  required,  a  written  assurance  of  personal  safety.  At 
the  same  time  he  issued  a  proclamation,  offering  free  passage  to  all 
who  wished  to  return  to  Spain,  in  five  vessels  about  to  be  put  to 
sea,  hoping,  by  this  means,  to  relieve  the  colony  from  all  the  idle 
and  disaffected.  -"_ 

Ballester  was  an  old  and  ""  *"  i  -*>„ 
venerable  man,  grayheaded,  and 
of  a  soldier-like  demeanor;  he 
was  loyal,  frank,  and  virtuous, 
of  a  serious  disposition,  and 
great  simplicity  of  heart.  His 
appearanee  and  character  com- 
manded the  respect  of  the  reb- 
els ;  but  they  treated  the  prof- 
fered pardon  with  contempt, 
made  many  demands  of  an  arrogant  nature,  and  declared  that  in  all 
further  negotiations,  they  would  treat  with  no  mediator  but  Car- 
vajal,  having  had  proofs  of  his  fairness  and  impartiality  in  the 
course  of  their  late  communications  with  him  at  Xaragua. 

This  insolent  reply  was  totally  different  from  what  the  admiral 
had  been  taught  to  expect.  He  now  ordered  the  men  of  San  Do- 
mingo to  appear  under  arms,  that  he  might  ascertain  the  force  with 
which  he  could  take  the  field  in  case  of  necessity.  A  report  was 
immediately  circulated  that  they  were  to  be  led  to  Bonao,  against 
the  rebels ;  some  of  the  inhabitants  had  relations,  others  friends, 
among  the  followers  of  Roldan  ;  almost  all  were  disaffected  to  the 
service ;  not  above  seventy  men  appeared  under  arms ;  one  affected 
to  be  ill,  another  lame  ;  there  were  not  forty  to  be  relied  upon. 


MEETING  OF   MIGUEL  BALLESTER  WITH   THE  OUTPOSTS  OF  THE  REBELS. 


302  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

Columbus  saw  that  a  resort  to  arms  would  only  serve  to  betray 
his  owu  weakness,  aud  the  power  of  the  rebels  ;  it  was  necessary  to 
temporize,  therefore,  however  humiliating  such  conduct  might  be 
deemed.  His  first  care  was  to  despatch  the  five  ships  which  he 
had  detained  in  port,  until  he  should  receive  the  reply  of  Roldau. 
He  was  anxious  that  as  many  as  possible  of  the  discontented  colo- 
nists should  sail  for  Spain,  before  any  commotion  should  take  place. 
He  wrote  to  the  sovereigns  an  account  of  his  late  voyage,  giving  an 
enthusiastic  description  of  the  newly-discovered  continent,  accom- 
panied by  a  chart  of  the  coast,  and  specimens  of  the  pearls  which 
he  had  procured  from  the  natives. 

He  informed  the  sovereigns,  also,  of  the  rebellion  of  Roldan  ; 
and  as  the  latter  pretended  it  was  only  a  quarrel  between  him  and 
the  adelantado,  he  begged  the  matter  might  be  investigated  by  their 
majesties,  or  by  persons  friendly  to  both  parties.  Among  other 
judicious  requests,  he  entreated  that  a  man  learned  and  experienced 
in  the  law,  might  be  sent  out  to  officiate  as  judge  over  the  island. 

By  this  opportunity  Roldan  aud  his  friends  likewise  sent  let- 
ters to  Spain,  endeavoring  to  justify  their  rebellion,  by  charging 
Columbus  and  his  brothers  with  oppression  and  injustice,  and  paint- 
ing their  whole  conduct  in  the  blackest  colors.  It  would  naturally 
be  supposed,  that  the  representations  of  such  men  would  have  little 
weight  in  the  balance  against  the  tried  merits  and  exalted  services 
of  Columbus ;  but  they  had  numerous  friends  and  relations  in  Spain 
to  back  them ;  Columbus  was  a  foreigner,  without  influence  in  the 
court,  aud  with  active  enemies  near  the  sovereigns,  ever  readv  to 
place  his  conduct  in  an  unfavorable  light. 

The  ships  being  despatched,  the  admiral  resumed  his  negotia- 
tion with  the  rebels.  As  the  burden  of  their  complaint  was  the 
strict  rule  of  his  brother,  who  was  accused  of  dealing  out  justice 
with  a  rigorous  hand,  he  resolved  to  try  the  alternative  of  extreme 
lenity,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Roldan,  calling  to  mind  past  kind- 
nesses, and  entreating  him,  for  the  sake  of  his  own  reputation, 
which  stood  well  with  the  sovereigns,  not  to  persist  in  his  present 
insubordination.  He  again  repeated  his  assurance,  that  he  and  his 
companions  might  come  to  treat  with  him  at  San  Domingo,  under 
the  faith  of  his  word,  for  the  inviolability  of  their  persons. 

There  was  a  difficulty  as  to  who  should  be  the  bearer  of  this 
letter.     The  rebels  had  declared  that  they  would  receive  no  media- 


OF   COLUMBUS.  303 

tor  but  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal.  Strong-  suspicions  existed  in 
the  minds  of  many  as  to  the  integrity  of  that  officer,  from  his 
transactions  with  the  rebels  at  Xaragua,  and  his  standing  so  high 
in  their  favor.  Columbus,  however,  discarded  all  those  suspicions, 
and  confided  implicitly  in  Carvajal,  nor  had  he  ever  any  cause  to 
repeut  of  his  confidence. 

A  painful  and  humiliating  negotiation  was  now  carried  on  for 
several  days,  in  the  course  of  which  Roldan 
had    an   interview   with    Columbus    at    San 
Domingo,  and  several  letters  passed  between 
them.     The  rebels   felt   their  power,  and 
presumed,  in  consequence,  to  demand  the    5 
most    extravagant    concessions.       Miguel 
Ballester  wrote   at  the  same   time  to  the 
admiral,  advising  him  to  agree  to  whatever 
thev  might  demand.     He  represented  their   carvajal  delivers  the  letter  of  the  admiral  to  the  rebels,  who 

r  '11  ,   ■  1,1  DEMAND    THE    MOST    EXTRAVAGANT    CONCESSIONS. 

forces  as  continually  augmenting,  and  that 

the  soldiers  of  his  garrison  were  daily  deserting  to  them,  and  gave 
it  as  his  opinion,  that  unless  some  compromise  was  speedily  effected, 
and  the  rebels  shipped  off  for  Spain,  not  merely  the  authority,  but 
even  the  person  of  the  admiral  would  be  in  danger ;  for  though  the 
hidalgos  and  the  immediate  officers  and  servants  about  him,  would 
doubtless  die  in  his  service,  yet  he  feared  that  the  common  people 
were  but  little  to  be  depended  upon. 

Thus  urged  by  veteran  counsel,  and  compelled  by  circumstan- 
ces, Columbus  at  length  made  an  arrangement  with  the  rebels,  by 
which  it  was  agreed,  that  Roldan  and  his  followers  should  embark 
for  Spain,  from  the  port  of  Xaragua,  in  two  ships  which  should  be 
fitted  out  and  victualled  within  fifty  days.  That  they  should  each 
receive  from  the  admiral  a  certificate  of  good  conduct,  and  an  order 
for  the  amount  of  their  pay  up  to  the  actual  date  ;  that  slaves 
should  be  given  them,  as  had  been  given  to  colonists,  in  considera- 
tion of  services  performed;  and  that  such  as  had  wives,  natives  of 
the  island,  might  take  them  with  them  in  place  of  slaves  ;  that 
satisfaction  should  be  made  for  property  of  some  of  the  company, 
which  had  been  sequestered,  and  for  live  stock  which  had  belonged 
to  Francis  Roldan. 

It  was  a  grievous  circumstance  to  Columbus,  that  the  vessels 
which  should  have  borne  his  brother  to  explore  the  newly-discov- 


304 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


ered  continent,  had  to  be  devoted  to  the  transportation  of  this  tur- 
bulent and  worthless  rabble;  but  he  consoled  himself  with  the  idea 
that,  the  faction  being  once  shipped  off,  the  island  would  again  be 
restored  to  tranquillity.  The  articles  of  arrangement  being  signed, 
Roldan  and  his  followers  departed  for  Xaragua,  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  ships  ;  and  Columbus,  putting  his  brother  Don  Diego  in 
temporary  command,  set  off  with  the  adelantado  on  a  tour  to  visit 
the  various  fortresses,  and  restore  every  thing  to  order. 

In  the  meanwhile  unavoidable  delays  took  place  in  fitting  out 
the  ships,  and  they  encountered  violent  storms  in  their  voyage  from 
San  Domingo  to  Xaragua,  so  as  to  arrive  there  long  after  the  stip- 
ulated time,  and  that  in  a  damaged  condition.  The  followers  of 
Roldan  seized  upon  this  as  a  pretext  to  refuse  to  embark,  affirming 
that  the  ships  had  been  purposely  delayed,  and  eventually  sent  in  a 

state  not  seaworthy,  and 
short  of  provisions.  New 
negotiations  were  there- 
fore set  on  foot,  and  new 
terms  demanded.  It  is  . 
probable  that  Roldan 
feared  to  return  to 
Spain,  and  his  follow- 
ers were  loth  to  give  up 
their  riotous  and  licen- 
tious life.  In  the  midst  of  his  perplexities,  Columbus  received  a 
letter  from  Spain,  in  reply  to  the  earnest  representations  which  he 
had  made  of  the  distracted  state  of  the  colony,  and  of  the  outrages 
of  these  licentious  men.  It  was  written  by  his  invidious  enemy, 
the  Bishop  Fonseca,  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs.  It  informed 
him  that  his  representations  of  the  alleged  rebellion  had  been  re- 
ceived, but  that  the  matter  must  be  suffered  to  remain  in  suspense, 
as  the  sovereigns  would  investigate  and  remedy  it  presently. 

This  cold  reply  had  the  most  disheartening  effect  upon  Colum- 
bus, while  it  increased  the  insolence  of  the  rebels,  who  saw  that  his 
complaints  had  little  weight  with  the  government.  Full  of  zeal, 
however,  for  the  prosecution  of  his  discoveries,  and  of  fidelity  to 
the  interests  of  the  crown,  he  resolved,  at  any  sacrifice  of  pride  or 
comfort,  to  put  an  end  to  the  troubles  of  the  island.  He  departed, 
therefore,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  with  two  caravels,  to  the 


THE     RIOTOUS    AND    LICENTIOUS    LIFE    OF    THE    FOLLOWERS    OF    ROLDAN. 


OF    COLUMBUS.  305 

port  of  Azna,  accompanied  by  several  of  the  most  important  per- 
sonages of  the  colony,  to  give  Roldau  a  meeting.  The  latter,  in 
this  interview,  conducted  himself  more  like  a  conqueror  exacting 
terms,  than  a  delinquent  seeking  pardon.  Among  other  things,  he 
demanded  that  such  of  his  followers  as  chose  to  remain  in  the  isl- 
and, should  have  lands  assigned  them,  and  that  he  should  be  rein- 
stated in  his  office  of  alcalde  mayor,  or  chief  judge.  The  mind 
grows  wearied  and  impatient  with  recording,  and  the  heart  of  the 
generous  reader  must  burn  with  indignation  at  perusing,  this  pro- 
tracted and  ineffectual  struggle,  of  a  man  of  the  exalted  merits  and 
matchless  services  of  Columbus,  in  the  toils  of  such  contemptible 
miscreants.  Surrounded  by  doubt  and  danger,  a  foreigner  among 
a  jealous  people,  an  unpopular  commander  in  a  mutinous  island, 
distrusted  and  slighted  by  the  government  he  was  seeking  to  serve, 
and  creating  suspicions  by  his  very  services,  he  knew  not  where  to 
look  for  faithful  advice,  efficient  aid,  or  candid  judgment.  He  was 
alarmed,  too,  by  symptoms  of  seditions  among  his  own  people,  who 
talked  of  following  the  examples  of  the  rebels,  and  seizing  upon 
the  province  of  Higuey.  Thus  critically  situated,  he  signed  a  hu- 
miliating capitulation  with  the  rebels,  trusting  he  should  afterwards 
be  able  to  convince  the  sovereigns  it  had  been  compulsorv,  and 
forced  from  him  by  the  perils  that  threatened  himself  and  the 
colony. 

When  Roldan  resumed  his  office  of  alcalde  mayor,  he  displayed 
all  the  arrogance  to  be  expected  from  one  who  had  intruded  him- 
self into  power  by  profligate  means.  Columbus  had  a  difficult  and 
painful  task  in  bearing  with  the  insolence  of  this  man,  and  of  the 
shameless  rabble  that  returned,  under  his  auspices,  to  San  Domingo. 
In  compliance  with  the  terms  of  agreement,  he  assigned  them  lib- 
eral portions  of  land,  and  numerous  Indian  slaves,  taken  in  the 
wars,  and  contrived  to  distribute  them  in  various  places,  some  in 
Bonao,  others  in  different  parts  of  the  vega.  He  made  an  arrange- 
ment, also,  by  which  the  caciques  in  their  vicinity,  instead  of  pay- 
ing tribute,  should  furnish  parties  of  their  subjects,  at  stated  times 
to  assist  in  the  cultivation  of  their  lands ;  a  kind  of  feudal  service, 
which  was  the  origin  of  the  repartimientos,  or  distributions  of  free 
Indians  among  the  colonists,  afterwards  generally  adopted  and 
shamefully  abused  throughout  the  Spanish  colonies,  and  which 
greatly  contributed  to  exterminate  the  natives  from  the  island  of 
Hispaniola. 


306  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

Having  obtained  such  ample  provisions  for  his  followers,  Rol- 
dan  was  not  more  modest  in  making  demands  for  himself.  Besides 
certain  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Isabella,  which  he  claimed,  as  having 
belonged  to  him  before  his  rebellion,  he  received  a  royal  farm, 
called  La  Esperanza,  in  the  vega,  and  extensive  tracts  in  Xaragua, 
with  live  stock  and  repartimientos  of  Indians. 

One  of  the  first  measures  of  Roldan  as  alcalde  mayor  was  to 
appoint  Pedro  Reguelme,bne  of  his  most  active  confederates,  alcalde 
of  Bouao,  an  appointment  which  gave  great  displeasure  to  Colum- 
bus, being  an  assumption  of  power  not  vested  in  the  office  of  Rol- 
dan. The  admiral  received  private  information,  also,  that  Re- 
guelme,  under  pretext  of  erecting  a  farm-house,  was  building  a 
strong  edifice  on  a  hill,  capable  of  being  converted  into  a  fortress  ; 
this,  it  was  whispered,  was  done  in  concert  with  Roldan,  by  way  of 
securing  a  stronghold  in  case  of  need.  The  admiral  immediately 
sent  peremptory  orders  for  Reguelme  to  desist  from  proceeding 
with  the  construction  of  the  edifice. 

Columbus  had  proposed  to  return  to  Spain,  having  experi- 
enced the  inefficiency  of  letters  in  explaining  the  affairs  of  the  isl- 
and ;  but  the  feverish  state  of  the  colony  obliged  him  to  give  up 
the  intention.  The  two  caravels  were  despatched  in  October,  tak- 
ing such  of  the  colonists  as  chose  to  return,  and  among  them  sev- 
eral of  the  partisans  of  Roldan,  some  of  whom  took  Indian  slaves 
with  them,  and  others  carried  away  the  daughters  of  caciques, 
whom  they  had  beguiled  from  their  homes  and  families. 

Columbus  wrote  by  this  opportunity  to  the  sovereigns,  giving 
it  as  his  opinion  that  the  agreement  he  had  made  with  the  rebels 
was  by  no  means  obligatory  on  the  crown,  having  been,  in  a  man- 
ner, extorted  by  violence.  He  repeated  his  request  that  a  learned 
mau  might  be  sent  out  as  judge,  and  desired,  moreover,  that  dis- 
creet persons  might  be  appointed  to  form  a  council,  and  others  for 
certain  fiscal  employments ;  entreating,  however,  that  their  powers 
might  be  so  limited  and  defined  as  not  to  interfere  with  his  digni- 
ties and  privileges.  Finding  age  and  infirmity  creeping  upon  him, 
he  began  to  think  of  his  son  Diego  as  an  active  coadjutor,  being 
destined  to  succeed  to  his  offices.  He  was  still  a  page  at  court, 
but  grown  to  man's  estate,  and  capable  of  entering  into  the  im- 
portant concerns  of  life  ;  he  begged,  therefore,  that  he  might  be 
sent  out  to  assist  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


VISIT  OF   OJEDA   TO  THE   WEST   END   OF  THE    ISLAND.     CONSPIRACY   OF    MOXICA.      (1499.) 


BOUT  this   time    reports  were 
brought  to   Columbus  that  four 
4foy     ships  had  anchored  at   the  west- 
ern part  of   the   isl- 
and,  a    little    below 
Jacquemel,    apparently 
with    the    design    of 
cutting    dye    woods 
and  carrying  off  the 
natives    for    slaves. 
The}7     were     com- 
manded by    Alonzo 
de  Ojeda,  the  same 
hot-headed     and 
bold-hearted  cava- 
lier who  had  dis- 
tinguished him- 
self by  the  capt- 
u  r  e    of  Caonabo. 
Knowing  the  dar- 
ing and    advent- 
urous spirit   of 
this  man,  the  ad- 
miral was  disturbed 
at    his   visiting    the 
island  in  this  clandes- 
tine  manner.     To    call 


AMERIGO   VESPUCCI. 


(307) 


3°§ 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


ROLDAN   INTERCEPTS  OJEOA. 


him  to  account,  however,  required  a  man  of  spirit  and  address. 
No  one  seemed  fitter  for  the  purpose  than  Roldan.  He  was  as 
daring  as  Ojeda,  and  of  a  more  crafty  character.  An  expedition  of 
this  kind  would  occupy  the  attention  of  himself  and  his  partisans, 
and  divert  them  from  any  schemes  of  mischief. 

Roldan  gladly  undertook  the  enterprise.  He  had  nothing  fur- 
ther to  gain  by  sedition,  and 
was  anxious  to  secure  his  ill- 
gotten  possessions  by  public 
services,  which  should  atone 
for  past  offenses.  Departing 
from  San  Domingo,  with  two 
caravels,  he  arrived,  on  the 
26th  of  September,  within 
two  leagues  of  the  harbor 
where  the  vessels  of  Ojeda 
were  anchored.  Here,  land- 
ing with  five-and-twenty  res- 
olute men,  he  intercepted 
Ojeda,  who  was  on  an  excursion  several  leagues  from  his  ships, 
and  demanded  his  motives  for  landing  on  that  remote  and  lonely 
part  of  the  island,  without  first  reporting  his  arrival  to  the  ad- 
miral. Ojeda  replied,  that  he  had  been  on  a  voyage  of  discovery, 
and  had  put  in  there  in  distress,  to  repair  his  ships  and  obtain 
provisions.  On  further  inquiry,  it  appeared  that  Ojeda  had 
happened  to  be  in  Spain  at  the  time  that  the  letters  arrived 
from  Columbus,  giving  an  account  of  his  discovery-  of  the  coast 
of  Paria,  accompanied  by  specimens  of  the  pearls  to  be  found 
there.  Ojeda  was  a  favorite  with  Bishop  Fonseca,  and  obtained 
a  sight  of  the  letter,  and  the  charts  and  maps  of  the  route  of 
Columbus.  He  immediately  conceived  the  idea  of  an  expedition 
to  those  parts,  in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  Fonseca,  who 
furnished  him  with  copies  of  the  papers  and  charts,  and  granted 
him  a  letter  of  license,  signed  by  himself,  but  not  by  the  sov- 
ereigns. Ojeda  fitted  out  four  ships  at  Seville,  assisted  by  many 
eager  and  wealthy  speculators;  and  in  this  squadron  sailed 
Amerigo  Vespucci,*  a  Florentine  merchant,  well  acquainted  with 

*  Amerigo  Vespucci,  born  in  Florence  in  1451  ;  undertook  his  first  sea  voyage  in  I499>  t0 
the   coast   of   Surinam.     In   1501  he  undertook  his  second  voyage  to  the  newly-discovered 


X&terr- 


W 


C309I 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


HI 


who  eventually  gave  his   name   to  the 
The   expedition  sailed   in  May,   1499. 


AmenV 


geography  and  navigation, 
whole  of  the  new  world. 
The  adventurers 
arrived  on  the 
southern  conti- 
nent, and  ranged 
along  it,  from 
two  hundred 
leagues  east  of 
the  Orinoco  to 
the  Gulf  of  Paria. 
Guided  by  the 
charts  of  Colum- 
bus, the}-  passed 
through  this 
gulf,  and  through 
the  Boca  del 
Drago,  and  kept 
along  westward 
to  Cape  de  la 
Vela,  visiting  the  island  of  Margarita,  and  the  adjacent  continent, 
and  discovering  the  Gulf  of  Venezuela.  They  subsequently  touched 
at  the  Caribbee  Islands,  where  they  fought  with  the  fierce  natives, 
and  made  many  captives,  with  the  design  of  selling  them  in  the 
slave  markets  of  Seville.  From  thence  they  sailed  for  Hispaniola, 
to  procure  supplies,  having  performed  the  most  extensive  voyage 
hitherto  made  along  the  shores  of  the  new  world. 

Ojeda  assured  Roldan  that  he  intended,  as  soon  as  his  ships 
were  ready,  to  go  to  San  Domingo  and  pay  his  homage  to  the  admi- 
ral. Trusting  to  this  assurance,  and  satisfied  with  the  information 
he  had  obtained,  Roldan  sailed  for  San  Domingo  to  make  his  report. 


Nuc  j?o  8>C  hg  partes  funt  latius  luftratne/8d"  alia 
quartapars  per  Americu  Vefputiu(vt  in.  fequenri 
bus  audietur  )inuenta  eft/qua  non  video  cur  quis 
lure  vetet  ab  Americo  inuentore  fagacis  ingenrj  vi 
ro  Amerigen  quafi  Amend  terra  /hue  American! 
dicenda:cu  Sc  Europa  8>C  Afia  a  mulieribus  fua  for 
titafintnomina.Eius  fitu  8C  genus  mores  ex  bis  hi 
nis  Amend  nauigationibus  quae  fequunt  liquids 
intelligidatun 

Or,  in  English: — "But  now  these  parts  have  been  more  extensively  explored  and  anothei 
fourth  part  has  been  discovered  by  Americus  Vespucius  (as  will  appear  in  what  follows) :  where- 
fore I  do  not  see  what  is  rightly  to  hinder  us  from  calling  it  Amerige  or  America,  i.  e.  the  land 
of  Americus,  after  its  discoverer  Americus,  a  man  of  sagacious  mind,  since  both  Europe  and 
Asia  have  got  their  names  from  women.  Its  situation  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  it3  penp^J 
will  be  clearly  understood  from  the  twice  two  voyages  of  Americus  which  follow." 


FAC-SIMILE   OF    PAGE   OF    COSMOGRAPHIA    INTROOUCTIO    BY   MARTIN    WALDSEEMULLER,  ,WHO    UNDER   THE    ASSUMSP   T'Tlfe  a* 

"  MYLACOMYLAS,"   FIRST    SUGGESTED  AMERICA  AS  THE    NAME  OF   THE    NEW  WORLD.      PRINTED    BY  PETER    DIRG, 

UNDER   THE    PATRONAGE  OF    RENE,   DUKE   OF    LORAINE,   IN   1507.      EARLIEST   KNOWN    EDITION    OF 

THIS    PUBLICATION  IN  LIBRARY    OF    VATICAN,    No.  9698. 


world,  and   in   1503  his  third.     On  this  last  voyage  he  explored  a  considerable  part  of  the 
coast  of  Brazil. 


j,  vpy^r:®1^*  u^-z^ta'-tV  v~~~"»~~ 


<#"***•** 


C^ 


\€Jv»  I 


De    vueatra    reverendisima 
eeaoria  bymyunente  beso  las  manos. 
Amerrigo  Vespucci, 
piloto  mayor. 


FAC-SIMILE  OF  THE  LAST   LINES  OF  A  LETTER  ADDRESSED  BY  AMERIGO  VESPUCCI  TO  THE  CARDINAL  ARCHBISHOP  OF  TOLEDO, 

DATED  SEVILLE,   DECEMBER  9,  1508. 


312 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


Nothing,  however,  was  farther  from  the  intention  of  Ojeda  than  to 
keep  his  promise.  As  soon  as  his  ships  were  ready  for  sea,  he  sailed 
round  to  the  coast  of  Xaragua.  Here  he  was  well  received  by  the 
Spaniards,  resident  in  that  province,  among  whom  were  many  of  the 
late  comrades  of  Roldan.  Knowing  the  rash  and  fearless  character 
of  Ojeda,  and  finding  that  there  were  jealousies  between  him  and 
the  admiral,  they  made  clamorous  complaints  of  the  injustice  of 
the  latter,  whom  the}-  accused  of  withholding  from  them  the  arrears 
of  their  pay.  Ojeda,  who  knew  the  tottering  state  of  the  admiral's 
favor  at  court,  and  felt  secure  in  the  powerful  protection  of  Fon- 
seca,  immediately  proposed  to  put  himself  at  their  head,  march  at 
once  to  San  Domingo,  and  oblige  the  admiral  to  satisfy  their  just 
demands.  The  proposition  was  received  with  transport  by  some 
of  the  rebels ;  but  others  demurred,  and  a  furious  brawl  ensued,  in 
which  several  were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides  :  the  party 
for  the  expedition  to  San  Domingo  remained  triumphant. 

Fortunately  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  admiral,  Roldan, 

who  had  received  news  of  the  movements  of  Ojeda,  arrived  in  the 

_— .  neighborhood  at  this  critical  juncture,  with 

a  band  of  resolute  followers,  and  was  rein- 
forced on  the  following  day  by  his  old  con- 
federate, Diego  de  Escobar,  with  additional 
forces.  Ojeda  retired  to  his  ships ;  a  long 
course  of  manoeuvring  took  place  between 
these  well-matched  adversaries,  each  striving 
to  gain  an  advantage  of  the  other.  Ojeda  at 
length  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  coast,  and 
made  sail  for  some  other  island,  to  make  up 
his  cargo  of  Indian  slaves. 

The  followers  of  Roldan  took  great 
merit  to  themselves  for  their  unwonted  loy- 
alty in  driving  Ojeda  from  the  island  ;  and, 
like  all  reformed  knaves,  expected  that  their 
good  conduct  would  be  amply  rewarded. 
Looking  upon  their  leader  as  having  every  thing  in  his  gift, 
they  requested  him  to  share  among  them  the  fine  province  of 
Cahay,  adjoining  to  Xaragua.  Roldan,  who  was  now  anxious  to 
establish  a  character  of  adherence  to  the  law,  declined  acceding 
to  their  wishes,  until  sanctioned  by  the  admiral ;   but,  to  soothe 


DIEGO    DE    ESCOBAR. 


(313) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


315 


their  impatient  rapacity,  lie  shared  among  them  the  lands  which 
had  been  granted  to  him  in  Xaragua.  While  he  was  remaining  in 
this  neighborhood,  other  troubles  broke  out,  and  from  somewhat 
of  a  romantic  cause.  A  young  cavalier  of  noble  famiby,  named 
Hernando  de  Guevara,  cousin  to  Adrian  de  Moxica,  one  of  the  ring- 
leaders of  the  late  rebellion,  was  banished  from  San  Domingo  for 
licentious  conduct,  and  sent  to  Xaragua,  to  embark  in  the  ships  of 
Ojeda,  but  arrived  after  their  departure.  He  was  treated  with  in- 
dulgence by  Roldan,  on  account  of  his  old  comrade,  Adrian  de 
Moxica,  and  was  favorably  received  at  the  house  of  the  female 
cacique,  Anacaona.  That  remarkable  woman  still  retained  her 
partiality  to  the  Spaniards,  notwithstanding  the  disgraceful  scenes 
that  had  passed  before  her  eyes.  By  her  late  husband,  Caonabo, 
she  had  a  daughter,  named  Higuenamota,  just  grown  up,  and 
greatly  admired  for  her  beauty.  Guevara  became  enamored  of 
her.  He  possessed  an  agreeable  person,  and  winning  manners, 
though  he  was  headstrong  in  his  passions,  and  destitute  of  prin- 
ciple. His  endearments  soon  won  the  heart  of  the  simple  Indian 
girl.  Anacaona,  the  mother,  pleased  with  the  gallant  appearance 
and  ingratiating  manners  of  the  youthful  cavalier,  favored  his 
attachment ;  especially  as  he  sought  her  daughter  in  marriage. 
Roldan  was  himself  attached  to  the  young  Indian  beauty,  and 
jealous  of  her  preference  of  his  rival.  He  exerted  his  authority 
to  separate  the  lovers,  and  banished .  Guevara  to  the  province  of 
Cahay.  The  latter  soon  returned,  and  concealed  himself  in  the 
dwelling  of  Anacaona.  Being  discovered,  and  finding  Roldan  im- 
placable in  his  opposition  to  his  passion,  he  now  meditated  revenge. 
He  soon  made  a  party  among  the  old  comrades  of  Roldan,  who 
detested  as  a  magistrate  the  man  they  had  idolized  as  a  leader.  It 
was  concerted  to  rise  suddenly  upon  him,  and  either  to  kill  him  or 
put  out  his  eyes.  The  plot  was  discovered  ;  Guevara  was  seized  in 
the  dwelling  of  Anacaona,  in  the  presence  of  his  intended  bride ; 
seven  of  his  accomplices  were  likewise  arrested,  and  the  prisoners 
were  sent  to  the  fortress  of  San  Domingo. 

When  Adrian  de  Moxica  heard  that  his  cousin  Guevara  was 
arrested,  and  that  too  by  his  former  confederate  Roldan,  he  was 
highly  exasperated.  He  hastened  to  the  old  haunt  of  rebellion  at 
Bonao,  and  claimed  the  co-operation  of  Pedro  Reguelme,  the  newly- 
appointed   alcalde.     It  was    readily    yielded.       The}-    went    round 


n6 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


among  their  late  fellow-rebels,  who  were  settled  in  the  vega,  and 
soon  mustered  a  daring  body  of  reckless  men,  ready  with  horse  and 
weapon  for  any  desperate  enterprise.  Moxica,  in  his  fury,  medi- 
tated not  merely  the  rescue  of  his  cousin,  but  the  death  of  Roldan 
and  the  admiral. 

Columbus  was  at  Fort  Conception,  with  an  inconsiderable 
force,  when  he  heard  of  this  dangerous  plot,  concerted  in  his  very 
neighborhood.  He  saw  that  his  safety  depended  upon  prompt  and 
vigorous  measures.  Taking  with  him  but  six  or  seven  trusty  serv- 
ants, and  three  esquires,  all  well  armed,  he  came  suddenly  upon 
the  conspirators  in  the  night,  seized  Moxica  and  several  of  his 
principal  confederates,  and  bore  them  off  to  Fort  Conception.  Re- 
solving to  set  an  example  that  should  strike  terror  into  the  factious, 
he  ordered  that  Moxica  should  be  hanged  on  the  top  of  the  fortress. 

The  latter  entreated  to  be  allowed  a 
confessor.  A  priest  was  sent  for.  The 
miserable  culprit,  who  had  been  so 
daring  in  rebellion,  lost  all  courage  at 
the  near  approach  of  death.  He  de- 
layed, and  hesitated  in  his  confession, 
as  if  hoping,  by  whiling  away  time  to 
give  a  chance  for  rescue.  Instead  of 
confessing  his  own  sins,  he  began  to 
accuse  others,  until  Columbus,  losing 
all  patience,  in  his  mingled  indigna- 
tion and  scorn,  ordered  the  dastard 
wretch  to  be  flung  from  the  battle- 
ments. 

This  sudden  act  of  severity  was 
promptly  followed  up.  Pedro  Re- 
guelme  was  taken  with  several  of  his 
compeers,  in  his  ruffian-den  at  Bonao,  and  conveyed  to  the  fortress 
of  San  Domingo.  The  conspirators  fled  for  the  most  part  to  Xa- 
ragua,  where  they  were  pursued  by  the  adelantado,  seconded  by 
Roldan,  and  hunted  out  of  all  their  old  retreats.  Thus  in  a  little 
while  the  power  of  faction  was  completely  subdued. 

Columbus  considered  this  happy  event  as  brought  about  by 
the  especial  intervention  of  Heaven,  and  gives  in  proof  of  it  an 
instance  of  one  of  those  visionary  fancies  by  which   he  seems  to 


THE  CONSPIR1TOR  ADRIAN   DE  MOXICA  SUDDENLY   SURPRISED  AND  ARRESTED. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  317 

.have  been  visited  at  times,  when  his  mind  was  distempered  by  ill- 
ness or  anxiety.  In  the  preceding  winter,  during  the  height  of 
his  cares  and  troubles,  he  had  sunk  into  a  state  of  despondency. 
In  one  of  his  gloomy  moods  he  heard,  he  says,  a  voice  which  thus 
addressed  him:  "O  man  of  little  faith!  fear  nothing;  be  not  cast 
down.  I  will  provide  for  thee.  The  seven  years  of  the  term  of 
gold  are  not  expired.*  In  that  and  in  all  other  things,  I  will  take 
care  of  thee."  On  that  very  day,  he  adds,  he  received  intelligence 
of  the  discovery  of  a  number  of  gold  mines.  The  imaginary  prom- 
ise of  Divine  aid  appeared  to  him  still  to  be  performing.  The 
troubles  and  dangers  which  had  surrounded  him  were  breaking 
away,  and  order  was  coming  out  of  confusion.  He  now  looked 
forward  to  the  prosecution  of  his  grand  enterprises,  the  exploring 
the  coast  of  Paria,  and  the  establishment  of  a  pearl  fishery  in  its 
waters.  How  illusive  were  his  hopes  !  at  this  very  moment  those 
events  were  maturing,  that  were  to  overwhelm  him  with  distress, 
strip  him  of  his  honors,  and  render  him  comparatively  a  wreck  for 
the  remainder  of  his  days  ! 

*  Alluding  to  his  vow,  that  within  seven  years  he  would  furnish  an  army  for  a  crusade, 
from  his  share  of  the  gold  to  be  found  in  the  new  world. 


STATUE  OF  COLUMBUS   IN   THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 


INTRIGUES  AGAINST    COLUMBUS    IN   THE    SPANISH    COURT.     APPOINTMENT    OF    BOBADILLA    AS 
COMMISSIONER.      HIS   ARRIVAL  AT  SAN    DOMINGO.       1500 


HILE  Columbus  had  been  involved 
in  a  series  of  difficulties  in  the  fac- 
tious island  of  Hispaniola,  his  ene- 
mies had  been  but  too  successful  in 
undermining    his   reputation    in    the 
court  of  Spain.     Every   vessel    that 
returned  from  the  new    world    came 
freighted  with  complaints,  representing 
the   character-  and  conduct  of   Colum- 
bus and  his  brothers  in  the  most  odious 
point    of    view,    and    reiterating    the    il- 
liberal, but  mischievous,  insinuation  that 
they  were   foreigners,  who  had    nothing   but 
their  own  interest  and  gratification  in  view. 
It  was  even  alleged  that  Columbus  intended 
to  cast  off  all  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  either 
himself  sovereign  of  the  countries  he  had  discovered,  or 
them  into  the  hands  of  some  other  power ;  a  slander  which, 
however  extravagant,  was  calculated  to  startle  the 
jealous  mind  of  Ferdinand.      The  bishop  Fonseca, 
and  other  enemies  of  Columbus  who  were  about  the 
court,  having   continual  access   to  the  sovereigns, 
were  enabled  to  place  every  thing  urged  against 
him  in  the  strongest  point  of  view,  while  they 
destroyed  the  force  of  his  vindications.     They 
had  a  plausible  logic  by  which  to  convict  him 


to  make 
to  yield 


THE  BISHOP  OF   PLACENTIA,   JUAN  RODRIGUEZ  DE   FONSECA. 
(318) 


OF    COLUMBUS.  319 

of  either  bad  management  or  bad  faith.  There  was  an  incessant 
drain  upon  the  mother-country  for  the  support  of  the  colony.  Was 
this  compatible,  the)'  asked,  with  the  extravagant  pictures  he  had 
drawn  of  the  wealth  of  the  island,  and  its  golden  mountains,  in 
which  he  had  pretended  to  find  the  Ophir*  of  ancient  days,  the 
source  of  the  riches  of  King  Solomon?  They  inferred  that  he  had 
either  deceived  the  sovereigns  by  exaggerations,  or  grossly  wronged 
them  by  malpractices,  or  that  he  was  totally  incapable  of  the  duties 
of  government. 

For  the  purpose  of  irritating  the  pride  of  the  king,  every  re- 
pining man  who  returned  from  the  colony,  was  encouraged  to  put 
in  claims  for  arrears  of  pa}-  withheld  by  Columbus,  or  losses  sus- 
tained in  his  service.  A  gang  of  the  disorderly  ruffians,  who  had 
been  shipped  off  to  free  the  island  from  their  seditions,  found  their 
way  to  the  court  at  Granada.  They  followed  the  king  when  he 
rode  out,  filling  the  air  with  complaints,  and  clamoring  for  their 
pay.  About  fifty  of  them  assembled  one  day,  in  the  main  court 
of  the  Alhambra,  under  the  royal  apartments,  holding  up  bunches 
of  grapes,  as  the  meager  diet  to  which  they  were  reduced  by  their 
poverty,  and  by  the  cruel  deceits  of  Columbus.  Seeing  the  two 
sons  of  the  admiral  pass  by,  who  were  pages  to  the  queen,  they 
followed  them  with  imprecations.  "  There  go,"  cried  they,  "  the 
whelps  of  him  who  discovered  the  land  of  vanity  and  delusion,  the 
grave  of  Spanish  hidalgos  !" 

The  incessant  repetition  of  falsehood  will  gradually  wear  its 
way  into  the  most  candid  mind.  Isabella  herself  began  to  enter- 
tain doubts  respecting  the  conduct  of  Columbus.  If  he  and  his 
brothers  were  upright,  they  might  be  injudicious,  and  mischief  is 
oftener  produced  in  government  through  error  of  judgment  than 
iniquity  of  design.  Isabella  doubted,  but  the  jealous  Ferdinand 
felt  convinced.  He  had  never  regarded  Columbus  with  real  cordi- 
ality ;  and  ever  since  he  had  ascertained  the  importance  of  his  dis- 
coveries, had  regretted  the  extensive  powers  he  had  vested  in  his 
hands.  He  now  resolved  to  send  out  some  person  to  investigate 
the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and,  if  necessary  for  its  safety,  to  assume 
the  command.  This  measure  had  actually  been  decided  upon,  and 
the  papers  drawn  out,  early  in  1499;  but,  from  various  reasons, 
had  been  postponed.      It  is  probable  Isabella  opposed  so  harsh  a 

*  Ophir.     The  country  is  to  be  searched   for  (if  at  all)  in  Arabia  or  India. 
18 


^20 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


step  against  a  ruaii  for  whom  she  entertained  an  ardent  gratitude 
and  high  admiration.  The  arrival  of  the  ships  with  the  late  fol- 
lowers of  Roldan,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  The  king  listened 
entirely  to  the  representations  of  the  rebels,  and  a  circumstance 
took  place,  which,  for  a  time,  suspended  the  friendship  of  Isabella, 
the  great  safeguard  of  Columbus. 

The  followers  of  Roldan  brought  with  them  a  number  of  slaves, 
some  of  which  Columbus  had  been  compelled  to  grant  them  by  the 

articles  of  capitulation,  others  had  been 
conveyed  away  clandestinely.  Among  them 
were  several  daughters  of  caciques,  who  had 
been  seduced  from  their  homes  by  these  prof- 
ligates. Some  were  in  a  state  of  pregnancy, 
others  had  new-born  infants.  The  gifts  and 
transfers  of  these  unhappy  beings  were  all 
represented  as  voluntary  acts  of  Columbus. 
The  sensibility  of  Isabella  as  a  woman,  and 
her  dignity  as  a  queen,  were  instantly  in 
arms.  "  What  right,"  exclaimed  she,  in- 
dignantly, "  has  the  admiral  to  give  away 
my  vassals  ?  "  She  immediately  ordered  all 
the  Indians  to  be  restored  to  their  homes ; 
nay,  more,  she  commanded  that  those  which 
had  formerly  been  sent  to  Spain  by  the  ad- 
miral should  be  sought  out  and  reshipped 
to  Hispaniola.  Unfortunately  for  Colum- 
bus, at  this  very  juncture,  in  one  of  his  let- 
ters, he  advised  the  continuance  of  Indian 
slavery  for  some  time  longer,  as  a  measure 
important  to  the  welfare  of  the  colony. 
This  contributed  to  heighten  the  indigna- 
tion of  Isabella,  and  induced  her  no  longer 
to  oppose  the  sending  out  a  commissioner  to  investigate  his  con- 
duct, and,  if  necessary,  to  supersede  him  in  command. 

The  person  chosen  for  this  most  momentous  office  was  Don 
Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  an  officer  of  the  royal  household,  and  a  com- 
mander of  the  military  and  religious  order  of  Calatrava.*  He  is 
represented  by  some  as  a  very  honest  and  religious  man  ;  by  others, 

*  A  Spanish  order  founded  in  the  9th  century. 


1  WHAT    RIGHT    HAS   THE    ADMIRAL  TO  GIVE  AWAY    MY   VASSALS  f  ' 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


321 


and  with  apparent  justice,  as  needy,  passionate,  and  ambitions,  three 
powerful  objections  to  his  acting  as  judge  in  a  case  where  the  ut- 
most caution  and  candor  were  required,  and  where  he  was  to  derive 
wealth  and  power  from  the  conviction  of  one  of  the  parties. 

Bobadilla  arrived  at  San  Domingo  on  the  23d  of  August,  1500. 
Before  entering  the  harbor,  he  learnt  from  a  canoe  winch  came  off 
from  the  shore,  that  the  admiral  and  the  adelantado  were  absent  in 
the  interior  of  the  island,  and  Don  Diego  in  command.  He  was 
told  of  the  recent  insurrection  of  Moxica,  and  the  punishments 
which  had  followed.  Seven  of  the  rebels  had  been  hanged  that 
week,  and  five  more  were  in  the  fortress  of  San  Domingo,  con- 
demned to  suffer  the  same  fate.  Among  these  were  Pedro  Re- 
guelme,  the  factious  alcalde  of  Bonao,  and  Fernando  de  Guevara, 
the  young  cavalier  whose  passion  for  the  daughter  of  Anacaona, 
had  been  the  original  cause  of  the 
rebellion.  As  the  vessels  en- 
tered the  river,  Bobadilla  beheld 
on  either  bank  a  gibbet,  with  the 
body  of  a  Spaniard  hanging  on 
it.  He  considered  all  these  cir- 
cumstances as  conclusive  proofs 
of  the  alleged  cruelty  of  Colum- 
bus. 

The  report  had  already  circu- 
lated in  the  city,  that  a  commis- 
sioner had  arrived  to  make  inquisition  into  the  late  troubles.  Many 
hastened  on  board  the  ship  to  pay  early  court  to  this  public  censor; 
aud  as  those  who  sought  to  secure  his  favor,  were  those  who  had 
most  to  fear  from  his  scrutiny,  it  is  evident  that  the  nature  of  their 
communications  was  generally  unfavorable  to  the  admiral.  In  fact, 
before  Bobadilla  landed,  if  not  before  he  arrived,  the  culpability  of 
the  admiral  was  decided  in  his  mind.  He  acted  accordingly.  He 
made  proclamation  at  the  church  door,  in  presence  of  Don  Diego 
and  the  other  persons  in  authority,  of  his  letters  patent,  author- 
izing him  to  investigate  the  rebellion,  and  proceed  against  delin- 
quents;  and  in  virtue  of  these,  he  demanded  that  Guevara,  Re- 
guelme,  and  the  other  prisoners,  should  be  delivered  up  to  him, 
with  the  depositions  taken  in  their  cases. 

Don  Diego  declared  he  could  do  nothing  of  the  kind  without 


FRANCISCO    DE    BOBADILLA    CAUSES    HIS    LETTERS    PATENT   TO 
IN    FRONT    OF    THE    CHURCH. 


BE    PROCLAIMED 


322 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


the  authority  of  the  admiral,  and  requested  a  copy  of  the  letters 
patent,  that  he  might  send  it  to  his  brother.  This  Bobadilla  re- 
fused, and  added,  that  since  the  office  he  proclaimed  appeared  to 
have  no  weight,  he  would  try  what  efficacy  there  was  in  the  name 
of  governor.  On  the  following  day,  therefore,  he  had  another  royal 
patent  read,  investing  him  with  the  government  of  the  islands,  and 
of  Terra  Firma ;  an  authority  which  he  was  only  to  have  assumed 
on  absolute  proof  of  the  delinquency  of  Columbus.  This  letter  be- 
ing read,  he  again  demanded  the  prisoners,  and  was  again  refused  ; 
Don  Diego  observing,  that  they  were  held  in  obedience  to  the 
admiral,  to  whom  the  sovereigns  had  granted  letters  of  a  higher 
nature. 

Bobadilla  now  produced  a  mandate  from  the  crown,  ordering 
Columbus  and  his  brothers  to  deliver  up  all  fortresses,  ships,  and 
other  royal  property;  and  another,  ordering  that  the  arrears  of 
wages  due  to  all  persons  in  the  royal  service  should  be  immediately 
paid,  and  the  admiral  compelled  to  pay  the  arrears  of  those  to 
whom  he  was  individually  accountable. 

This  last  document  was  received  with  shouts  by  the  multitude, 
to  many  of  whom  long  arrears  were  due,  in  consequence  of  the 
poverty  of  the  treasury.  Flushed  with  his  growing  importance 
and  popularity,  Bobadilla  again  demanded  the  prisoners,  and  re- 
ceiving the  same  reply,  he  proceeded  to  the  fortress,  and  made  a 
formal  demand  of  them  of  the  alcayde  Miguel  Diaz.  The  latter 
refused  to  surrender  them  to  any  one  but  the  admiral.  Upon  this, 
the  whole  spirit  of  Bobadilla  was  aroused.  He  assembled  the  sail- 
ors of  the  ships,  and  the  rabble  of  the  place,  marched 
them  to  the  prison,  broke  open  the  door, 
which  readily  gave  way,  while  some  of  his 
myrmidons*  put  up  ladders  to 
scale  the  walls.  The  alcayde 
Miguel  Diaz,  and  Don 
Diego  de  Alvarado,  ap- 
peared on  the  battle- 
ments   with    drawn 

*  Myrmidons  (rough  soldiers, 
so  called  after  a  son  of  Jupiter, 
Myrmidon)  were  a  people  of 
Thessaly,  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Achilles. 


THE   RABBLE    OF    SAN    DOMINGO   ON    THE    ROAD    TO   THE    PRISON. 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


323 


swords,  but  offered  no  resistance.  The  fortress,  having  no  garri- 
son, was  easily  carried,  and  the  prisoners  were  borne  off  in  triumph, 
and  given  in  custody  to  an  alguazil.* 

Such  was  the  entrance  into  office  of  Francisco  de  Bobadilla, 
and  he  continued  his  career  in  the  same  spirit, 
acting  as  if  he  had  been  sent  out  to  degrade 
the  admiral,  not  to  inquire  into  his 
conduct.  He  took  up  his  residence 
in  the  house  of  Colum- 
bus, seized  upon  his 
arms,  gold,  plate,  jewels, 
horses,  books,  letters, 
and  most  secret  manu- 
scripts, giving  no  ac- 
count of  the  property 
thus  seized,  paying  out 
of  it  the  wages  of  those 
to  whom  the  admiral 
was  in  arrears,  and  dis- 
posing of  the  rest  as  if 
already  confiscated  to  the  crown.  To  increase  his  favor  with  the 
people,  he  proclaimed  a  general  license  for  twenty  years,  to  seek 
for  gold,  exacting  merely  one-eleventh  for  government,  instead  of 
a  third,  as  heretofore.  At  the  same  time,  he  used  the  most  unquali- 
fied language  in  speaking  of  Columbus,  hinted  that  he  was  em- 
powered to  send  him  home  in  chains,  and  declared,  that  neither  he, 
nor  any  of  his  lineage,  would  ever  again  be  permitted  to  govern  the 
island. 

*  Alguazil,  a  Spanish  constable. 


RUINS    OF    THE    CASTLE    OF    COLUMBUS 


-  ~"^ "■"■■■ 


THE    HOMENAJE,    OR    CASTLE    OF    SAN    DOMINGO,   AT   THE   MOUTH    OF    THE    RIVER    OZAMA 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH. 

■  N    THE    UPPER    PICTURE,   WH.CH    SHOWS   THE    CASTLE    FROM    .TS    REAR.   THE    UPPER   WINDOW    IN    THE    TOWER    IS  THE    ONE    SHOWN    TO-DAY 

AS   THE    PRISON    OF    COLUMBUS. 


(3=41 


COLUMBUS     IN    CHAINS    ABOARD    THE    GORDA.       PAINTING    BY     MARECHAL,    PARIS    SALON,   1867, 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


COLUMBUS   ARRESTED   AND   SENT  TO   SPAIN.     11500. ' 


(HEN  Columbus  received  tidings  at  Fort 
Conception  of  the  high-handed  pro- 
ceedings of  Bobadilla,  he  considered 
them  the  unauthorized  act  of  some 
rash  adventurer ;  but  the  proclamation 
of  his  letters  patent,  which  immediate- 
ly took  place  throughout  the  Island, 
soon  convinced  him  he  was  acting  under  author- 
it}-.  He  endeavored,  then  to  persuade  himself  that  Bobadilla  was 
sent  out  to  exercise  the  functions  of  chief  judge,  in  compliance 
with  the  request  contained  in  one  of  his  own  letters  to  the  sover- 
eigns, and  that  he  was  perhaps  intrusted  with  provisional  powers 
to  inquire  into  the  late  troubles  of  the  island.  All  beyond  these 
powers,  he  tried  to  believe  were  mere  assumptions,  and  exaggera- 
tions of  authority,  as  in  the  case  of  Aguado.  His  consciousness 
of  his  own  services  and  integrity,  and  his   faith  in   the  justice  of 


(3=5) 


MANACLES    IN   USE    IN    THE 
FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 
MUSEUM    CLUNY.    PARIS. 


326  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

the  sovereigns,  forbade  him  to  think  otherwise.  He  proceeded  to 
act  on  this  idea;  writing  temperate  and  conciliatory  letters  to  Bo- 
badilla,  cautioning  him  against  his  precipitate  measures,  while  he 
endeavored  by  counter  proclamations  to  prevent  the  mischief  he 
was  producing.  Messengers  soon  arrived,  however;  who  delivered 
to  him  a  royal  letter  of  credence,  commanding  him  to  give  implicit 
faith  and  obedience  to  Bobadilla,  and  they  gave  him,  at  the  same 
time,  a  summons  from  the  latter  to  appear  before  him  immediately 
at  San  Domingo.  This  laconic  letter  from  the  sovereigns  struck 
at  once  at  the  root  of  his  dignity  and  power ;  he  made  no  longer 
any  hesitation  or  demur,  but  departed  alone  and  almost  unattended, 
to  obey  the  peremptory  summons  of  Bobadilla.  The  latter,  in  the 
mean  time,  had  made  a  bustle  of  preparation,  and  mustered  the 
troops,  affecting  to  believe  a  vulgar  rumor,  that  Columbus  had  called 
on  the  caciques  of  the  vega,  to  aid  him  in  resisting  the  commands 
of  the  government.  He  moreover  arrested  Don  Diego,  threw 
him  in  irons,  and  confined  him  on  board  of  a  caravel,  without 
assigning  any  cause  for  his  imprisonment. 

No  sooner  did  he  hear  of  the  arrival  of  Columbus,  than  he 
gave  orders  to  put  him  also  in  irons,  and  to  confine  him  in  the 
fortress. 

This  outrage  to  a  person  of  such  dignified  and  venerable  ap- 
pearance, and  such  eminent  merit,  seemed  for  a  time  to  shock 
even  his  enemies.  When  the  irons  were  brought,  every  one 
present  shrunk  from  the  task  of  putting  them  on  him,  either 
out  of  a  sentiment  of  compassion  at  so  great  a  reverse  of  fortune, 
or  out  of  habitual  reverence  for  his  person.  To  fill  the  measure  of 
ingratitude  meted  out  to  him,  it  was  one  of  his  own  servants  that 
volunteered  to  rivet  his  fetters. 

Columbus  conducted  himself  with  characteristic  magnanimity 
under  the  injuries  heaped  upon  him.  There  is  a  noble  scorn  which 
swells  and  supports  the  heart,  and  silences  the  tongue  of  the 
truly  great,  when  enduring  the  insults  of  the  unworthy.  Co- 
lumbus could  not  stoop  to  deprecate  the  arrogance  of  a  weak  and 
violent  man  like  Bobadilla.  He  looked  beyond  this  shallow  agent, 
and  all  his  petty  tyranny,  to  the  sovereigns  who  had  employed  him. 
It  was  their  injustice  and  ingratitude  alone  that  could  wound  his 
spirit ;  and  he  felt  assured  that  when  the  truth  came  to  be  known, 
they  would  blush  to  find  how  greatly  they  had  wronged  him.    With 


OF     COLUMBUS.  327 

this  proud  assurance,  he  bore  all  present  indignities  in  silence.  He 
even  wrote,  at  the  demand  of  Bobadilla,  a  letter  to  the  adelantado, 
who  was  still  in  Xaragua,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  force,  exhorting 
him  to  submit  quietly  to  the  will  of  the  sovereigns.  Don  Barthol- 
omew immediately  complied.  Relinquishing  his  command,  he 
hastened  peacefully  to  San  Domingo,  and  on  arriving,  experienced 
the  same  treatment  with  his  brothers,  being  put  in  irons,  and  con- 
fined on  board  of  a  caravel.  They  were  kept  separate  from  each 
other,  and  no  communication  permitted  between  them.  Bobadilla 
did  not  see  them  himself,  nor  did  he  allow  others  to  visit  them  ; 
and  they  were  kept  in  total  ignorance  of  the  crimes  with  which 
they  were  charged,  and  the  proceedings  that  were  instituted  against 
them. 

The  old  scenes  of  the  time  of  Aguado  were  now  renewed,  with 
tenfold  virulence.  All  the  old  charges  were  revived,  and  others 
added,  still  more  extravagant  in  their  nature.  Columbus  was  ac- 
cused of  having  prevented  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  that  they 
might  be  sold  as  slaves.  With  having  secreted  pearls  collected  on 
the  coast  of  Paria,  and  kept  the  sovereigns  in  ignorance  of  the  nat- 
ure of  his  discoveries  there,  in  order  to  exact  new  privileges  from 
them.  Even  the  late  tumults  were  turned  into  matters  of  accusa- 
tion, and  the  rebels  admitted  as  evidence.  The  well-merited  pun- 
ishments inflicted  upon  certain  of  the  ringleaders  were  cited  as 
proofs  of  a  cruel  and  revengeful  disposition,  and  a  secret  hatred  of 
Spaniards.  Guevara,  Reguelme,  and  their  fellow-convicts,  were 
discharged  almost  without  the  form  of  a  trial.  Roldan,  from  the 
very  first,  had  been  treated  with  confidence  by  Bobadilla ;  all  the 
others,  whose  conduct  had  rendered  them  liable  to  justice,  received 
either  a  special  acquital  or  a  general  pardon. 

Bobadilla  had  now  collected  testimony  sufficient,  as  he  thought, 
to  insure  the  condemnation  of  the  prisoners,  and  his  own  continu- 
ance in  command.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  send  home  the  ad- 
miral and  his  brothers  in  chains,  in  the  vessels  which  were  ready 
for  sea,  with  the  inquest  taken  in  their  case,  and  private  letters  en- 
forcing the  charges  made  against  them. 

San  Domingo  now  swarmed  with  miscreants,  just  delivered 
from  the  dungeon  and  the  gibbet.  Every  base  spirit  which  had 
been  overawed  by  Columbus  and  his  brothers,  when  in  power,  now 
hastened  to  revenge  itself  upon  them  when  in  chains.     The  most 


<2S 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


injurious  slanders  were  loudly  proclaimed  in  the  streets,  pasqiii- 
nades,*  and  libels  were  posted  up  at  the  corners,  and  horns  blown 

in  the  neighborhood  of  their 
prisons,  to  taunt  them  with 
the  exultings  of  the  rabble. 
The  charge  of  conduct- 
ing the  prisoners  to  Spain, 
was  given  to  Alonzo  de  Vil- 
lejo,  an  officer  who  was  in  the 
employ  of  Bishop  Fonseca. 
He  was  instructed,  on  arriv- 
ing at  Cadiz,  to  deliver  his 
prisoners  into  the  hands  of 
the  bishop,  which  circum- 
stance has  caused  a  belief 
that  Fonseca  was  the  secret 
instigator  of  all  these  violent 
proceedings.  Villejo,  how- 
ever, was  a  man  of  honorable 
character,  and  generous  feel- 
ings, and  showed  himself 
superior  to  the  low  malignity 
of  his  patrons.  When  he 
arrived  with  a  guard  to  con- 


duct the  admiral  from  the 
prison  to  the  ship,  he  found 
him  in  chains  in  a  state  of 
deep  despondency.  So  vio- 
lently had  he  been  treated, 
and  so  savage  were  the  pas- 
sions let  loose  against  him, 
he  had  begun  to  fear  he 
should  be  sacrificed  without 
an  opportunity    of    being 

heard,  and  that  his  name  would  go  down  to  posterity  sullied  with 

imputed  crimes. 

When  the  officer  entered  with  the  guard,  he  thought  it  was  to 

conduct    him    to    the    scaffold.       "Villejo,"    said    he,    mournfully, 

*  Pasquinades,  more  witty  than  malicious  jokes;  libel. 


COLUMBUS    REFUSES   TO    PERMIT  THE   FETTERS  WITH  WHICH    HE  IS    LOADED  TO  BE    REMOVED. 
"  ALL   SPAIN    SHALL    WITNESS    THE    INDIGNITIES   HEAPED    UPON    ME."       SEE    PAGE    409. 


(329) 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


331 


"whither  are  you  taking  me?"  "To  the  ship,  your  Excellency,  to 
embark,"  replied  the  other.  "To  embark!"  repeated  the  admiral, 
earnestly.  "  Villejo,  do  you  speak  the  truth?"  "By  the  life  of 
your  Excellency,"  replied  the  honest  officer,  "  it  is  true ! "  With 
these  words  the  admiral  was  comforted,  and  felt  as  one  restored 
from  death  to  life. 

The  caravels  set  sail  early  in  October,  bearing  off  Columbus, 
shackled  like  the  vilest  of  culprits,  amidst  the  scoffs  and  shouts  of 
a  miscreant  rabble,  who  took  a  brutal  joy  in  heaping  insults  on  his 
venerable  head,  and  sent  curses  after  him  from  the  island  he  had 
so  recently  added  to  the  civilized  world.  Fortunately  the  voyage 
was  favorable  aud  of  moderate  duration,  and  was  rendered  less  irk- 
some to  Columbus,  by  the  conduct  of  those  to  whom  he  was  given 
in  custody.  The  worth}'  Villejo,  as  well  as  Andreas  Martin,  the 
master  of  the  caravel,  felt  deeply  grieved  at  his  situation,  and  al- 
ways treated  him  with  profound  respect  and  assiduous  attention. 
They  would  have  taken  off  his  irons,  but  to  this  he  would  not  con- 
sent. "No,"  said  he,  proudly,  "their  majesties  commanded  me  by 
letter  to  submit  to  whatever  Bobadilla  should  order  in  their  name ; 
by  their  authority  he  has  put  upon  me  these  chains  ;  I  will  wear 
them  until  they  shall  order  them  to  be  taken  off,  and  I  will  after 
wards  preserve  them  as  relics  and  memorials  of  the  reward  of  my 
services." 

"He  did  so,"  adds  his  son  Fernando,  in  his  history ;  "I  saw 
them  always  hanging  in  his  cabinet,  and  he  requested  that  when 
he  died  they  might  be  buried  with  him!" 


FROM   THE  STATUE    IN  GENOA. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


ARRIVAL    OF    COLUMBUS    IN    SPAIN.      HIS    INTERVIEW  WITH    THE    SOVEREIGNS.     APPOINTMENT 
OF   OVANDO  TO  THE   GOVERNMENT   OF    HISPANIOLA.     (1500.' 


HE  arrival  of  Columbus  at  Cadiz,  a 
prisouer,  and  in  chains,  produced 
almost  as  great  a  sensation  as  his 
triumphant  return  from  his  first  voy- 
age. A  general  burst  of  indignation 
arose  in  Cadiz,  and  in  the  powerful 
and  opulent  Seville,  which  was  imme- 
diately echoed  throughout  all  Spain. 
No  one  stopped  to  reason  on  the  sub- 
ject. It  was  sufficient  to  be  told  that 
Columbus  was  brought  home  in  chains  from  the 
world  he  had  discovered. 

The  tidings  reached  the  court  of  Granada,  and 
filled  the  halls  of  the  Alhambra  with  murmurs  of  astonishment.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  ships  at  Cadiz,  Andreas  Martin,  the  captain,  had 
permitted  Columbus  to  send  off  letters  privately  by  express.  The 
admiral,  full  of  his  wrongs,  but  ignorant  how  far  they  had  been  au- 
thorized by  the  sovereigns,  forbore  to  write  to  them.  He  sent  a  long 
letter,  however,  to  a  lady  of  the  court,  high  in  favor  with  the  queen, 
and  who  had  been  nurse  to  Prince  Juan.  It  contained  an  ample  vin- 
dication of  his  conduct,  couched  in  eloquent  and  dignified  and  touch- 
ing language.  When  it  was  read  to  the  noble-minded  Isabella,  and 
she  found  how  grossly  Columbus  had  been  wronged,  and  the  royal 
authoritv  abused,  her  heart  was  filled  with  mingled  sympathy  and 


indignation. 


(332) 


Si1 


HI 

m 
< 

to 

□ 

z 
< 


o 


Q 

(T 
UJ 

u. 

> 

CO 

to 

z> 

_J 
O 
O 


o 


z 
g 

i- 

0- 

LU 

o 

UJ 
IT 

UJ 

H 
< 

z 
o 


uj  S 
u.  < 
u. 
< 

z 


[fl 


■  ' 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


335 


However  Ferdinand  might  have  secretly  felt  disposed  against 
Columbus,  the  momentary  tide  of  public  sentiment  was  not  to  be 
resisted.  He  joined  with  his  generous  queen,  in  her  reprobation 
of  the  treatment  of  the  admiral.  Without  waiting  to  receive  any 
documents  that  might  arrive  from  Bobadilla,  they  sent  orders  to 
Cadiz  that  the  prisoners  should  be  instantly  set  at  liberty,  and 
treated  with  all  distinction,  and  that  two  thousand  ducats  should 
be  advanced  to  Columbus  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  journey  to 
court.  They  wrote  him  a  letter  at  the  same  time,  expressing  their 
grief  at  all  that  he  had  suffered,  and  inviting  him  to  Granada. 

The  loyal  heart  of  Columbus  was  cheered  by  this  letter  from 
his  sovereigns.  He  appeared  at  court,  not  as  a  man  ruined  and 
disgraced,  but  richly  dressed,  and  with  an  honorable  retinue.  He 
was  received  by  their  majesties  with  unqualified  favor  and  distinc- 
tion. When  the  queen  beheld  this  venerable  man  approach,  and 
thought  on  all  he  had  deserved,  and  all  that  he  had  suffered,  she 
was  moved  to  tears.  Columbus  had  borne  up  firmly  against  the 
stern  conflicts  of  the  world ;  he  had  endured  with  lofty  scorn  the 
injuries  and  insults  of  ignoble  men,  but  he  possessed  strong  and 

quick  sensibility.     When  he  found  himself  thus  kindly 

received,  and  beheld  tears  in  the  benign  eyes  of  Isabella, 
his  long  suppressed  feelings  burst  forth;  he  threw  him- 
self upon  his  knees,  and  for  some  time  could  not  litter  a 
word  for  the  violence  of  his  tears  and  sobbings. 

Ferdinand  and    Isabella    raised    him    from  the 
ground,  and  endeavored  to  encourage    him  by    the 
most  gracious  expressions.     As  soon  as  he  regained 
his  self-possession,  he  entered  into  an  eloquent 
and  high-minded  vindication  of  his  loyalty,  and  j 

the  zeal  he  had  ever  felt  for  the  glory  anc 
vantage  of  the  Spanish  crown ;  if,  at 
any  time,  he  had  erred,  it  had  been,  he 
said,  through  inexperience  in  the  art  of 
governing,  and  through  the  extraordi- 
nary difficulties  by  which  he  had  been 
surrounded. 

There  was  no  need  of  vindication  on 
his  part.  He  stood  in  the  presence  of  his 
sovereigns  a  deeply-injured  man,  and  it    j 


MONUMENT  OF  COLUMBUS  IN   FRONT  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  AT  SAN  DOMINGO. 


THE    INDIAN    FEMALE  FIGURE  IS  TO    REPRESENT  THE    BEAUTIFUL    ANACAONA,  THE 
GOLDEN   FLOWER  OF   XARAGIA.     FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH 


336  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

remained  for  them  to  vindicate  themselves  to  the  world,  from  the 
charge  of  ingratitude  towards  their  most  deserving  subject.  They  ex- 
pressed their  indignation  at  the  proceedings  of  Bobadilla,  which  they 
disavowed,  as  contrary  to  his  instructions ;  they  promised  that  he 
should  be  immediately  dismissed  from  his  command,  and  Columbus 
reinstated  in  all  his  privileges  and  dignities,  and  indemnified  for  the 
losses  he  had  sustained.  The  latter  expected,  of  course,  to  be  im- 
mediately sent  back  in  triumph  to  San  Domingo,  as  viceroy  and 
admiral  of  the  Indies ;  but  in  this  he  was  doomed  to  experience  a 
disappointment,  which  threw  a  gloom  over  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  The  fact  was,  that  Ferdinand,  however  he  might  have  disap- 
proved of  the  violence  of  Bobadilla,  was  secretly  well  pleased  with 
its  effects.  It  had  produced  a  temporary  exclusion  of  Columbus 
from  his  high  offices,  and  the  politic  monarch  determined,  in  his 
heart,  that  he  should  never  be  restored  to  them.  He  had  long 
repented  having  vested  such  great  powers  and  prerogatives  in  any 
subject,  particularly  in  a  foreigner;  but  at  the  time  of  granting 
them  he  had  no  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  countries  over  which  they 
would  be  exercised.  Recent  discoveries,  made  by  various  individu- 
als, showed  them  to  be  almost  boundless.  Vincente  Yanez  Pinzon, 
one  of  the  brave  and  intelligent  family  of  navigators  that  had  sailed 
with  Columbus  in  his  first  voyage,  had  lately  crossed  the  line,  and 
explored  the  shores  of  the  southern  continent,  as  far  as  Cape  St. 
Augustine.  Diego  Lepe,  another  bold  navigator  of  Palos,  had  doub- 
led that  cape,  and  beheld  the  continent  stretching  away  out  of  sight, 
to  the  southwest.  The  report  of  every  discoverer  put  it  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  these  countries  must  be  inexhaustible  in  wealth,  as  they 
appeared  to  be  boundless  in  extent.  Yet  over  all  these  Columbus 
was  to  be  viceroy,  with  a  share  iu  their  productions,  and  the  prof- 
its of  their  trade,  that  must  yield  him  an  incalculable  revenue.  The 
selfish  monarch  appeared  almost  to  consider  himself  outwitted  in 
the  arrangement  he  had  made ;  and  every  new  discovery,  instead 
of  increasing  his  feeling  of  gratitude  to  Columbus,  seemed  only  to 
make  him  repine  at  the  growing  magnitude  of  his  reward. 

Another  grand  consideration  •  with  the  monarch  was,  that  Co- 
lumbus was  no  longer  indispensable  to  him.  He  had  made  his 
great  discovery ;  he  had  struck  out  the  route  to  the  new  world,  and 
now  any  one  could  follow  it.  A  number  of  able  navigators  had 
sprung  up  under  his  auspices,  who  were  daily  besieging  the  throne 


of  columbus.  337 

with  offers  to  fit  out  expeditions  at  their  own  cost,  and  to  yield  a 
share  of  the  profits  to  the  crown.  Why  should  he,  therefore,  con- 
fer princely  dignities  and  prerogatives  for  that  which  men  were 
daily  offering  to  perform  gratuitously? 

Such,  from  his  after  conduct,  appears  to  have  been  the  jealous 
and  selfish  policy  which  actuated  Ferdinand  in  forbearing  to  rein- 
state Columbus  in  those  dignities  and  privileges  which  had  been 
solemnly  granted  to  him  by  treaty,  and  which  it  was  acknowledged 
he  had  never  forfeited  by  misconduct.  Plausible  reasons,  however, 
were  given  for  delaying  his  reappointment.  It  was  observed,  that 
the  elements  of  those  factions,  which  had  recently  been  in  arms, 
yet  existed  in  the  island,  and  might  produce  fresh  troubles  should 
Columbus  return  immediately.  It  was  represented  as  advisable, 
therefore,  to  send  some  officer  of  talent  and  discretion  to  supersede 
Bobadilla,  and  to  hold  the  government  for  two  years,  by  which  time 
all  angry  passions  would  be  allayed,  and  turbulent  individuals  re- 
moved. Columbus  might  then  resume  the  command,  with  comfort 
to  himself,  and  advantage  to  the  crown.  With  this  arrangement 
the  admiral  was  obliged  to  content  himself. 

The  person  chosen  to  supersede  Bobadilla  was  Don  Nicholas 
de  Ovando,  commander  of  Lares,  of  the  order  of  Alcantara.  He 
is  described  as  being  of  the  middle  size,  with  a  fair  complexion,  a 
red  beard,  a  modest  look,  yet  a  tone  of  authority ;  fluent  in  speech, 
courteous  in  manners,  prudent,  just,  temperate,  and  of  great  hu- 
mility. Such  is  the  picture  drawn  of  him  by  some  of  his  con- 
temporaries ;  3'et  he  appears,  from  his  actions,  to  have  been  plausi- 
ble and  subtle,  as  well  as  fluent  and  courteous ;  his  humility  con- 
cealed a  great  love  of  command;  he  was  a  merciless  scourge  to  the 
Indians,  and  in  his  dealings  with  Columbus  he  was  both  ungener- 
ous and  unjust. 

While  the  departure  of  Ovando  was  delayed  by  various  cir- 
cumstances, every  arrival  brought  intelligence  of  the  disastrous 
state  of  the  Island,  under  the  administration  of  Bobadilla.  The 
latter  was  not  so  much  a  bad,  as  an  imprudent  and  a  weak  man. 
Imagining  rigorous  rule  to  be  the  rock  on  which  his  predecessor 
had  split,  he  had,  at  the  very  outset,  relaxed  the  reigns  of  justice 
and  morality,  and,  of  course,  had  lost  all  command  over  the  com- 
munity- In  a  little  while  such  disorder  and  licentiousness  ensued, 
that  many,  even  of  the  opponents  of  Columbus,  looked  back  with 


33§ 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


REPARTIMIENTOS  OF 


NS  WASHING  GOLD. 


regret   to   the   strict-  but  wholesome  rule  of  himself  and  the  ade- 
lautado. 

One  dangerous  indulgence  granted  to  the  colonists  called  for 
another,  and   each  was  ceded,  in  its    turn,  by  Bobadilla.     He  sold 

the  farms  and  estates  of  the  crown  at  low 
prices,  and  granted  universal  permission  to 
work  the  mines,  on  paying  only  an  eleventh 
of  the  produce  to  government.  To  pre- 
vent any  diminution  in  the  revenues,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  increase  the  quantity  of 
gold  collected.  He  enforced,  therefore,  the 
repartimientos,  by  which  the  caciques  were 
obliged  to  furnish  parties  of  their  sub- 
jects to  work  for  the  Spaniards  in  the  field 
and  in  the  mine.  To  carry  these  into 
more  complete  effect,  he  made  an  enumeration  of  the  natives  of 
the  Island,  reduced  them  into  classes,  and  distributed  them,  accord- 
ing to  his  favor  or  caprice,  among  the  colonists.  His  constant 
exhortation  to  the  Spaniards  was,  to  produce  large  quantities  of 
gold.  "Make  the  most  of  your  time,"  he  would  say,  "there  is  no 
knowing  how  long  it  will  last;"  alluding  to  the  possibility  of  his 
being  speedily  recalled.  The  colonists  acted  up  to  his  advice,  and 
so  hard  did  they  drive  the  poor  natives,  that  the  eleventh  yielded 
more  revenue  than  had  ever  been  produced  by  the  third,  under  the 
government  of  Columbus.  In  the  mean  time,  the  uuhappy  Indians 
sunk  under  the  toils  imposed  upon  them,  and  the  severities  by 
which  they  were  enforced.  A  capricious  tyranny  was  exercised 
over  them  by  worthless  men,  numbers  of  whom  had  been  trans- 
ported convicts  from  the  dungeons  of  Castile.  These  wretches  as- 
sumed the  tone  of  grand  cavaliers,  and  insisted  upon  being  attended 
by  trains  of  servants ;  they  took  the  daughters  and  female  relatives 
of  caciques  for  their  servants  or  their  concubines.  In  traveling, 
they  obliged  the  natives  to  transport  them  on  their  shoulders  in 
litters  or  hammocks,  while  others  held  umbrellas  of  palm  leaves 
over  their  heads,  and  cooled  them  with  fans  of  feathers.  Some- 
times the  backs  and  shoulders  of  the  unfortunate  Indians  who  bore 
the  litters  were  raw  and  bleeding  from  the  task.  When  these  arro- 
gant upstarts  arrived  at  an  Indian  village,  they  capriciowsly  seized 
upon  and  lavished  the  provisions  of  the  inhabitants,  and  obliged 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


339 


the  cacique  and  his  subjects  to  dance  for  their  amusement.  They 
never  addressed  the  natives  but  in  the  most  degrading  terms ;  and 
for  the  least  offense,  or  in  a  mere  freak  of  ill  humor,  they  would 
inflict  blows  and  lashes,  and  even  death  itself. 

The  tidings  of  these  abuses,  and  of.  the  wrongs  of  the  natives, 
grieved  the  spirit  of  Isabella,  and  induced  her  to  urge  the  departure 
of  Ovando.  He  was  empowered  to  assume  the  command  immediately 
on  his  arrival,  and  to  send  home  Bobadilla  by  the  return  of  the  fleet. 
Hispaniola  was  to  be  the  metropolis  of  the  colonial  government, 
which  was  to  extend  over  the  islands  and  Terra  Firma.  Ovando 
was  to  correct  the  late  abuses,  to  revoke  the  improper  licenses 
granted  by  Bobadilla,  to  lighten  the  burdens  imposed  upon  the 
Indians,  and  to  promote 
their  religious  instruction. 
He  was,  at  the  same  time, 
to  ascertain  the  injury 
sustained  by  Columbus  in 
his  late  arrest  and  im- 
prisonment, and  the  ar- 
rears of  revenue  that  were 
due  to  him,  that  he  might 
receive  ample  redress  and 
compensation.  The  ad- 
miral was  to  be  allowed  a 
resident  agent  in  the 
island,  to  attend  to  his 
affairs  and  guard  his  in- 
terests, to  which  office  Columbus  immediately  appointed  Alonzo 
Sanchez  de  Carvajal. 

Among  various  decrees  on  this  occasion,  we  find  the  first  trace 
of  negro  slavery  in  the  new  world.  It  was  permitted  to  transport 
to  the  colony  negro  slaves  born  in  Spain,  the  children  and  descend- 
ants of  natives  brought  from  Guinea,  where  the  slave  trade  had 
for  some  time  been  carried  on  by  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese. 
There  are  signal  events  in  the  course  of  history,  which  sometimes 
bear  the  appearance  of  temporal  judgments.  It  is  a  fact  worthy 
of  observation,  that  Hispaniola,  the  place  where  this  flagrant  sin 
against  nature  and  humanity  was  first  introduced  into  the  new 
world,  has  been  the  first  to  exhibit  an  instance  of  awful  retribution.* 

*  The  insurrection  of  the  negroes  under  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  1791. 


A   SPANISH    CAVALIER   OF   THE   TIME   TRAVELING   THROUGH   THE   COUNTRY. 
'WHEN  ONE  OF  THE  WRETCHED,   OVERLADEN  INDIANS  BROKE   OOWN  UNDER  THE   INTOLERABLE  BURDEN  I 
UPON   HIM,   FROM   SHEER  EXHAUSTION,   HIS   HEAD  WAS  IMMEDIATELY  CHOPPED  OFF, 
AND  THE  BURDEN    HEAPED  UPON  ANOTHER."— US  C*SA9. 


19 


34° 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


The  fleet  appointed  to  convey  Ovando  to  his  government  put 
to  sea  on  the  13th  of  February,  1502.  It  was  the  largest  arma- 
ment that  had  yet  sailed  to  the  new  world,  consisting  of  thirty 
sail,  of  various  sizes,  provided  with  all  kinds  of  supplies  for  the 
colony.  Twenty-five  hundred  souls  embarked  in  this  fleet,  many 
of  them  persons  of  rank,  with  their  families.  Ovando  was  allowed 
a  brilliant  retinue,  a  body  guard  of  horsemen,  and  the  use  of  silks, 
brocades,  and  precious  stones,  at  that  time  forbidden  by  the  sump- 
tuary laws  of  Spain.  Such  was  the  style  in  which  a  favorite  of 
Ferdinand,  a  native  subject  of  rank,  was  fitted  out  to  enter  upon 
the  government  withheld  from  Columbus. 


SADDLE   FROM  THE  EARLY    PART  OF    THE  XVII.  CENTURY. 
ARMORY,    MADRID. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


PROPOSITION   OF  COLUMBUS   FOR   A   CRUSADE.      HIS    PREPARATIONS   FOR   A   FOURTH   VOYAGE. 

(1500-1501. 1 


OLUMBUS  remained  in  the  city  of  Granada  up- 
wards of  nine  mouths,  awaiting  employment,  and 
endeavoring  to  retrieve  his  affairs  from  the  con- 
fusion into  which  they  had  been  thrown.  Dur- 
ing this  gloomy  period,  he  called  to  mind  his 
vow  to  furnish,  within  seven  years  from  the  time 
of  his  discovery  of  the  new  world,  an  army  of  fifty 
thousand  foot  and  five  thousand  horse,  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  holy  sepulchre.  The  time  had  elapsed,  the  vow  re- 
mained unfulfilled,  and  the  expected  treasures  that  were  to  pay  the 
army  had  never  been  realized.  Destitute,  therefore,  of  the 
means  of  accomplishing  his  pious  purpose,  he  con- 
sidered it  his  duty  to  incite  the  sovereigns  to 
the  enterprise  ;  and  he  felt  emboldened  to  do 
so,  from  having  originally  proposed  it  as 
the  great  object  to  which  the  profits  of  his 
discoveries  should  be  directed.  He  set  to 
work,  therefore,  with  his  accustomed  zeal, 
to  prepare  arguments  for  the  purpose.  Aided 
by  a  Carthusian  friar,*  he  collected  into  a 
manuscript  volume  all  the  passages  in  the 

*  Carthusian.  The  name  of  an  order  (who  obligated 
themselves  to  eternal  silence)  given  to  it  from  the  name  of 
the  cloister  situated  near  Grenoble,  France,  (La  Grande 
Chartreuse)  which  was  founded  by  Bruno  A.  D.  1086. 


CARTHUSIAN    FRIAR. 
(34') 


542 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


Sacred  Scriptures  and  in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  which  he  con- 
ceived to  contain  mystic  portents  and  prophecies  of  the  discovery 
of  the  new  world,  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  recov- 
ery of  the  holy  sepulchre;  three  great  events  which  he  considered 
as  destined  to  succeed  each  other,  and  to  be  accomplished  through 
his  agency.  He  prepared,  at  the  same  time,  a  long  letter  to  the 
sovereigns,  written  with  his  usual  fervor  of  spirit  and  simplicity  of 
heart,  urging  them  to  set  on  foot  a  crusade  for  the  conquest  of 
Jerusalem.  It  is  a  singular  composition,  which  lays  open  the  vis- 
ionary part  of  his  character,  and  shows  the  mystic  and  speculative 
reading  with  which  he  was  accustomed  to  nurture  his  solemn  and 
soaring  imagination.* 

It  must  be  recollected  that  this  was  a  scheme  .meditated  in 
melancholy  and  enthusiastic  moods,  in  the  courts  of  the  Alhambra, 
among  the  splendid  remains  of  Moorish  grandeur,  where,  but  a  few 
years  before,  he  had  beheld  the  standard  of  the  faith  elevated  in  tri- 
umph above  the  symbols  of  infidelity.      It  was  in  unison  with  the 

temper  of  the  times,  when  the  cross 
and  sword  frequently  went  together, 
and  religion  was  made  the  pretext 
for  the  most  desolating  wars. 
Whether  Columbus  ever  presented 
this  book  to  the  sovereigns  is  uncer- 
tain ;  it  is  probable  that  he  did  not, 
as  his  thoughts  suddenly  returned, 
with  renewed  ardor,  to  their  wonted 
channels,  and  he  conceived  a  leading 
object  for  another  enterprise  of  dis- 
covery. 

Vasco  de  Gama  had  recently  ac- 
complished the  long  attempted  navi- 
gation to  India  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  Pedro  Alvarez  Cabral,  fol- 
lowing in  his  track,  had  returned 
with  his  vessels  laden  with  the  pre- 

*The  manuscript  volume,  including  the  let- 
ter, still  exists  in  the  Columbian  library  of  the  Ca- 
thedral of  Seville,  and  has  been  inspected  with 
great  interest  by  the  writer  of  this  history. 

VASCO   DE    GAMA. 

rHOM    THE    MSS.    OF    PEDRO    BARETTO    OE   RESENOA,  IN   THE  SLOANE    LIBRARY    OF    THE 

BRITISH    MUSEUM.      THE   COMMENTARIES  OF  ALFONSO  DALBOQUERQUE. 

W.   DE  G.   BIRCH,   HACKLUYT    SOC. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


343 


cious  merchandise  of  the  East.  The  riches  of  Calicut  were  now 
the  theme  of  every  tongue.  The  discoveries  of  the  savage  regions  of 
the  new  world  had  as  }Tet  brought  but  little  revenue  to  Spain,  but 
this  route  to  the  East  Indies  was  pouring  in 
immediate  wealth   upon   Portugal. 

Columbus  was  roused  to  emulation,  and 
trusted  he  could  discover  a  route  to  those  ori- 
ental regions  more  easy  and  direct  than  that  of 
Vasco  de  Gama.  According  to  his  own  obser- 
vations, and  the  reports  of  other  navigators, 
the  coast  of  Terra  Firma  stretched  far  to  the 
westward.  The  southern  coast  of  Cuba,  which 
he  considered  a  part  of  the  Asiatic  continent, 
stretched  onward  towards  the  same  point.  The 
currents  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  must  pass  be- 
tween these  lands.  He  was  persuaded,  there- 
fore, that  a  strait  must  exist  somewhere  there- 
about, opening  into  the  Indian  Sea.  The 
situation  in  which  he  placed  his  conjectural 
strait  was  somewhere  about  what  is  at  present 
called  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  Could  he  but 
discover  such  a  passage,  and  thus  link  the  new 
world  he  had  discovered,  with  the  opulent 
oriental  countries  of  the  old,  he  felt  that  he  should  make  a  mag- 
nificent close  to  his  labors. 

He  unfolded  his  plan  to  the  sovereigns,  and,  though  it  met 
with  some  narrow-minded  opposition  on  the  part  of  certain  of  the 
royal  councillors,  it  was  promptly  adopted,  and  he  was  empowered 
to  fit  out  an  armament  to  carry  it  into  effect.  He  accordingly  de- 
parted for  Seville  in  the  autumn  of  1501,  to  make  the  necessary 
preparations  ;  but  such  were  the  delays  caused  by  the  artifices  of 
Fonseca  and  his  agents,  that  it  was  not  until  the  following  month 
of  May  that  he  was  able  to  put  to  sea. 


COAT    OF    ARMS    OF    VASCO    DE  GAMA. 


SIGNATURE  OF  VASCA    DE  GAMA    (AND  TWO   WITNESSES'   ON  A   DOCUMENT  WHEREIN    HE   PAYS  HOMAGE  TO   JOHN    I 


ARCHIVE  USSABON. 


344 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


Before  sailing,  he  took  measures  to  provide  against  any  mis- 
fortune that  might  happen  to  himself  in  so  distant  and  perilous  an 
expedition.  He  caused  copies  to  be  made  and  authenticated,  of  all 
the  royal  letters  patent  of  his  dignities  and  privileges ;  of  his  letter 
to  the  nurse  of  Prince  Juan,  containing  a  vindication  of  his  con- 
duct ;  and  of  two  letters  assigning  to  the  Bank  of  St.  George,  at 
Genoa,  a  tenth  of  his  revenues,  to  be  employed  in  diminishing  the 
duties  ou  provisions  in  his  native  city.     These  two  sets  of  docu- 


CORSO   DE    LAS    DEUCIAS,    SEVILLE. 


ments  he  sent  by  different  hands  to  his  friend,  Doctor  Nicolo  Odo- 
rigo,  who  had  been  Genoese  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Spain,  re- 
questing him  to  deposit  them  in  some  safe  place  at  Genoa,  and  to 
apprize  his  son  Diego  of  the  same. 

He  wrote  also  to  Pope  Alexander  the  Seventh,  mentioning  his 
vow  to  furnish  an  army  for  a  crusade,  but  informing  him  of  his 
being  prevented  from  fulfilling  it  by  being  divested  of  his  govern- 
ment. He  promised  his  Holiness,  however,  on  his  return  from  his 
present  voyage,  to  repair  immediately  to  Rome,  and  render  him  an 
account  of  all  his  expeditions. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 


COLUMBUS   SAILS  ON    HIS   FOURTH   VOYAGE.     EVENTS  AT  THE    ISLAND   OF   HISPANIOLA.     HIS 
SEARCH    AFTER   AN    IMAGINARY   STRAIT.     (1502.) 


GE  was  rapidly  making  its  advances  upon 
Columbus,  when  he  undertook  his  fourth 
voyage  of  discovery.  He  was  now  about 
sixty-six  years  old.  His  constitution, 
originally  vigorous  in  the  extreme,  had 
been  impaired  by  hardships  and  ex- 
posures in  every  clime,  and  by  the 
mental  sufferings  he  had  undergone. 
His  intellectual  powers  alone  retained 
their  wonted  energy,  prompting  him, 
at  a  period  of  life  when  most  men  seek 
repose,  to  sally  forth,  with  youthful  ardor, 
on  the  most  toilsome  and  adventurous  of  enter- 
prises. In  this  arduous  voyage,  he  was  accom- 
panied by  his  brother  Don  Bartholomew,  who 
commanded  one  of  the  vessels,  and  by  his  son 
Fernando,  then  in  his  fourteenth  year. 
Columbus  sailed  from  Cadiz  ou  the  9th  of  May,  1502.  His 
squadron  consisted  of  four  caravels,  the  largest  of  but  seventy  tons 
burden,  the  smallest  of  fifty;  the  crews  amounted  in  all  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men.  With  this  little  armament,  and  these  slender 
barks,  he  undertook  the  search  after  a  strait,  which,  if  found,  must 
conduct  him  into  the  most  remote  seas,  and  lead  to  a  complete  cir- 
cumnavigation of  the  globe.  After  touching  at  the  Canaries,  he 
had  a  prosperous  voyage  to  the  Caribbee  Islands,  arriving  on  the 
15th  of  June,  at  Mantinino,  at  present  called  Martinique.     He  had 


(345) 


346  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

originally  intended  to  steer  to  Jamaica,  and  from  thence  for  the 
continent,  in  search  of  the  supposed  strait ;  but  one  of  his  vessels 
proving  a  dull  sailer,  he  bore  away  for  Hispaniola,  to  exchange  it 
for  one  of  the  fleet  which  had  recently  taken  out  Ovando.  This 
was  contrary  to  his  orders,  which  had  expressly  forbidden  him  to 
touch  at  Hispaniola  until  his  return  homewards,  lest  his  presence 
should  cause  some  agitation  in  the  island ;  he  trusted,  however,  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  would  plead  his  excuse. 

Columbus  arrived  off  the  harbor  of  San  Domingo  at  an  unpro. 
pitious  moment.  The  place  was  filled  with  the  most  virulent  of  his 
enemies,  many  of  whom  were  in  a  high  state  of  exasperation  from 
recent  proceedings  which  had  taken  place  against  them.  The  fleet 
which  had  brought  out  Ovando  lay  in  the  harbor  ready  to  put  to 
sea ;  and  was  to  take  out  Roldan,  and  many  of  his  late  adherents, 
some  of  whom  were  under  arrest,  and  to  be  tried  in  Spain.  Boba- 
dilla  was  to  embark  in  the  principal  ship,  on  board  of  which  he 
had  put  an  immense  amount  of  gold,  the  revenue  collected  for  the 
government  during  his  administration,  and  which  he  confidently 
expected  would  atone  for  all  his  faults.  Among  the  presents  he 
intended  for  the  sovereigns  was  one  mass  of  virgin  gold,  which  is 
famous  in  the  old  Spanish  chronicles.  It  was  said  to  weigh  three 
thousand  six  hundred  castillanos.  Large  quantities  of  gold  had 
also  been  shipped  in  the  fleet  by  the  followers  of  Roldan,  and  other 
adventurers ;  the  wealth  gained  by  the  sufferings  of  the  unhappjr 
natives. 

It  was  on  the  29th  of  June,  that  Columbus  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  sent  an  officer  on  shore  to  explain  to  the  governor 
the  purpose  of  his  visit ;  he  requested  permission,  moreover,  to 
shelter  his  squadron  in  the  river,  as  he  apprehended  an  approach- 
ing storm.  His  request  was  refused  by  Ovando,  who  probably  had 
orders  from  the  sovereigns  to  that  effect,  and  perhaps  was  further 
swayed  by  prudent  considerations.  Columbus  then  sent  a  second 
message,  entreating  that  the  sailing  of  the  fleet  might  be  dela3"ed, 
as  there  were  indubitable  signs  of  an  approaching  tempest.  This 
request  was  as  fruitless  as  the  preceding ;  the  weather,  to  an  inex- 
perienced eye,  was  fair  and  tranquil,  and  the  warning  of  the  admi- 
ral was  treated  with  ridicule,  as  the  prediction  of  a  false  prophet. 

Columbus  retired  from  the  river,  indignant  at  being  denied 
relief,  and  refused  shelter  in  the  very  island  which  he  had  discov- 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


347 


ered.  His  crew  murmured  loudly  at  being  excluded  from  a  port 
of  their  own  nation,  where  even  strangers,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, would  be  admitted,  and  the}-  repined  at  having  embarked 
with  a  commander  who  was  liable  to  such  treatment.  Co- 
lumbus, feeling  confident  that  a  storm  was  at  hand,  kept  his 
feeble  squadron  close  to  shore,  and  sought  for  shelter  in  some 
wild  bay  or  river  of  the  island. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  fleet  of  Bobadilla  set  sail  from  San 
Domingo,  and  stood  out  confidently  to  sea.  Within  two  days, 
the  predictions  of  Columbus  were  verified.  One  of  those 
tremendous  storms  which  sometimes  sweep  those  latitudes, 
gradually  gathered  up  and  begun  to  blow.  The  little 
squadron  of  Columbus  remained  for  a  time  tolerably  well 
sheltered  by  the  land,  but  the  tempest  increasing,  and  the 
night  coming  on  with  unusual  darkness,  the  ships  lost  sight 
of  each  other,  and  were  separated.  The  admiral  still  kept 
close  to  the  shore,  and  sustained  no  damage.  The  three  other 
vessels  ran  out  for  sea-room,  and  for  several  days  were  driven 
about  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave,  fearful  each  moment  of 
shipwreck,  and  giving  up  each  other  as  lost.  The  adelantado, 
who  commanded  the  worst  vessel  of  the  squadron,  ran  the 
most  imminent  hazard,  and  nothing  but  his  consummate  sea- 
manship enabled  him  to  keep  her  afloat ;  he  lost  his  longboat, 
and  all  the  other  vessels  sustained  more  or  less  injury.  At 
length,  after  various  vicissitudes,  they  all  arrived  safe  at  Port 
.Hermoso,  to  the  west  of  San  Domingo. 

A  different  fate  befell  the  other  armament.     The  ship  on 
board  of  which  were  Bobadilla,  Roldan,  and  a  number  of  the 
most  inveterate  enemies  of  Columbus,  was  swallowed  up  with 
all  its  crew,  and  with  the  celebrated  mass  of  gold,  and  the 
principal  part  of  the  ill-gotten  treasure  gained  by  the  miseries 
of  the  Indians.     Many  of  the  other  ships  were  entirely  lost, 
some  returned  to  San  Domingo  in  shattered  condition,  and 
only  one  was  en- 
a  b  1  e  d  to    con- 
tinue   her   voy- 
age to  Spain. 
That  one,  it  is 
said,  was  the 


THE    DESTRUCTION   OF   THE    FLEET   OF    BOBADILLA. 


34§ 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


weakest  of  the  fleet,  and  had  on  board  of  it  four  thousand  pieces  of 
gold,  the  property  of  the  admiral,  remitted  to  Spain  by  his  agent 
Carvajal.  Both  Fernando  Columbus,  and  the  venerable  historian  Las 
Casas,  looked  upon  this  event  as  one  of  those  awful  judgments  which 
seem  at  times  to  deal  forth  temporal  retribution.  They  notice  the 
circumstance,  that  while  the  enemies  of  the  admiral  were  thus,  as  it 
were,  before  his  eyes,  swallowed  up  in  the  raging  sea,  the  only  ship 
enabled  to  pursue  her  voyage  was  the  frail  bark  freighted  with  his 
property.  Many  of  the  superstitious  seamen,  who,  from  the  sagac- 
ity displayed  by  Columbus,  in  judging  of  the  signs  of  the  elements, 
and  his  variety  of  scientific  knowledge,  looked  upon  him  as  endowed 
with  supernatural  powers,  fancied  he  had  conjured  up  this  storm  by 
magic  spells,  for  the  destruction  of  his  enemies.  The  evils  in  this, 
as  in  most  of  the  cases  called  temporal  judgments,  overwhelmed  the 
innocent  with  the  guilty.  In  the  same  ship  with  Bobadilla  and 
Roldan,  perished  the  captive  Guarionex,  the  unfortunate  cacique  of 
the  vega. 

After  repairing  the  damages  sustained  by  his  ships  in  the 
storm,  Columbus  steered  for  Terra  Firma,  but  the  weather  falling 
perfectly  calm  he  was  swept  away  to  the  northwest  by  the  currents, 
until  he  arrived  on  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba.  The  wind  spring- 
ing up  fair,  he  resumed  his  course,  and,  standing  to  the  southwest, 
was  enabled,  on  the  30th  of  July,  to  make  the  island  of  Guanaga, 

While  the  ade- 
lantado  was  on  shore  at  this 
island,  a  canoe  arrived  of  an 
immense  size,  on  board  of  which 
sat  a  caciqiie  with  his  wives 
and  children,  under  an  awning 
of  palm  leaves.  The  canoe 
was  paddled  by  twenty-five 
Indians,  and  freighted  with 
various  merchandise,  the  rude 
manufactures  and  natural  pro- 
ductions of  the  adjacent  coun- 
tries. There  were  hatchets  and 
other  utensils  of  copper,  with 
a  kind  of  crucible  for  the  melt- 
ing of  that  metal ;  various  ves- 


a  few  leagues  distant  from  the  coast  of  Honduras 


INDIAN    POTTERS    FROM    THE   COAST   OF    HONDURAS    ^MODERN-). 


OF    COLUMBUS.  349 

sels  neatly  formed  of  clay,  marble,  and  hard  wood  ;  mantles  of  cotton, 
worked  and  dyed  with  various  colors;  and  man)'  other  articles 
which  indicated  a  superior  degree  of  art  and  civilization  than  had 
hitherto  been  discovered  in  the  new  world. 

The  Indians,  as  far  as  they  could  be  iinderstood,  informed  the 
admiral  that  they  had  come  from  a  country  rich,  cultivated,  and 
industrious,  situated  to  the  west,  and  urged  him  to  steer  in  that 
direction.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  Columbus  had  he  followed 
their  advice.  Within  a  day  or  two  he  would  have  arrived  at  Yuca- 
tan ;  the  discovery  of  Mexico,  and  the  other  opulent  countries  of 
New  Spain,  would  have  necessarily  followed;  the  Southern  Ocean 
would  have  been  disclosed  to  him,  and  a  succession  of  splendid 
discoveries  would  have  shed  fresh  glory  on  his  declining  age,  in- 
stead of  its  sinking  amidst  gloom,  neglect,  and  disappointment. 

The  admiral's  whole  mind,  however,  was  at  present  intent  upon 
discovering  the  supposed  strait  that  was  to  lead  him  to  the  Indian 
Ocean.  He  stood,  therefore,  southwardly  for  some  mountains  which 
he  descried  not  many  leagues  distant,  and  made  Cape  Honduras, 
and  from  thence  proceeded  eastwardly,  beating  against  contrary 
winds,  and  struggling  with  the  currents  which  sweep  that  coast. 
There  was  an  almost  incessant  tempest,  with  heavy  rain  and  awful 
thunder  and  lightning.  His  vessels  were  strained  so  that  their 
seams  opened;  the  sails  and  rigging  were  rent,  and  the  provisions 
damaged  by  the  rain  and  the  leakage.  The  sailors  were  exhausted 
with  fatigue,  and  harassed  with  terror.  Several  times  they  con- 
fessed their  sins  to  each  other,  and  prepared  for  death.  During  a 
great  part  of  this  time,  Columbus  suffered  extremely  from  the  gout, 
and  his  complaint  was  aggravated  by  watchfulness  and  anxiety. 
His  illness  did  not  prevent  his  attending  to  his  duties ;  he  had  a 
small  cabin  or  round-house  constructed  on  the  stern,  from  whence, 
even  when  confined  to  his  bed,  he  could  keep  a  lookout,  and  regu- 
late the  sailing  of  the  ships.  Many  times  he  was  so  ill  that  he 
thought  his  end  approaching,  and  his  anxious  mind  was  distressed 
at  the  thoughts  that  his  brother  Don  Bartholomew,  and  his  son 
Fernando,  were  exposed  to  the  same  dangers  and  hardships.  Often, 
too,  his  thoughts  reverted  to  his  son  Diego,  and  the  cares  and  mis- 
fortunes into  which  his  death  might  plunge  him.  At  length,  after 
struggling  for  upwards  of  forty  days  to  make  a  distance  of  about 
seventy  leagues,  he  arrived,  on  the  14th  of  September,  at  a  cape 


35° 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


where  the  coast  made  a  sudden  bend,  and  turned  directly  south. 
Doubling  this  cape,  he  had  immediately  an  easy  wind,  and  swept 
off  with  flowing  sail,  in  consequence  of  which  he  gave  it  the  name 
of  Gracias  a  Dios,  or  Thanks  to  God. 

For  three  weeks  he  continued  coasting  what  is  at  present 
called  the  Mosquito  shore,  in  the  course  of  which  a  boat  with  its 
crew  was  swallowed  up  by  the  sudden  swelling  of  a  river.  He  had 
occasional  interviews  with  the  natives,  but  a  mutual  distrust  pre- 
vailed between  them  and  the  Spaniards.  The  Indians  were  fright- 
ened at  seeing  a  notary  of  the  fleet  take  out-  pen,  ink,  and  paper, 
and  proceed  to  w  rite  down  the  information  they  were  communicat- 
ing ;  they  supposed  he  was  working  some  magic  spell,  and  to  coun- 
teract it,  they  scattered  a  fragrant  powder  in  the  air,  and  burnt  it 
so  that  the  smoke  should  be  borne  toward  the  Spaniards.  The 
superstitious  seamen  looked  upon  these  counter  charms  with  equal 
distrust.  They  suspected  the  people  of  this  coast  to  be  great 
enchanters,  and  that  all  the  delays  and  hardships  they  had  experi- 
enced were  in  consequence  of  the  ships  being  under  some  evil 
spell,  wrought  by  their  magic  arts.  Even  Columbus,  and  his  son 
and  historian  Fernando,  appear  to  have  been  tinctured  with 
this  superstition,  which  indeed  is  characteristic  of  the  age. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  Columbus  arrived  at  what  is  at 
.^g^k.     present  called  Costa  Rica  (or  the  Rich  Coast),  from 
the   gold   and  silver  mines    found   in    after  years 
among  its  mountains.     Here  he  began  to  find 
ornaments  of  pure  gold  among  the  natives. 
These  increased  in  quantity  when  he  came 
to  what  has  since  been  called  the  coast  of 
Veragua,  where  he  was  assured  that  the 
richest  mines  were  to  be  found.     In  sail- 
ing along  these    coasts   he    received  re- 
peated accounts  of  a  great  kingdom 
in   the    west,  called    Ciguare,  at    the 
distance    of    several    days'   journey, 
where,  as  far  as  he  could  understand 
the     imperfect    explanations    of    his 
interpreters,     the     inhabitants    wore 
crowns  and  bracelets  and  anklets  of 
gold,  and  employed  it  in  embroider- 


iNDIAN  WOMAN     OF    CIGUARE   (MODERN    MEXICO'  SPINNING. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  35 1 

ing  their  garments,  and  ornamenting  and  embossing  their  furni- 
ture. They  were  armed,  also,  like  the  Spaniards,  with  swords, 
bucklers,  and  cuirasses,  and  were  mounted  011  horses.  The  country 
was  described  also  as  being  commercial,  with  seaports,  in  which 
ships  arrived  armed  with  cannon.  Abo.ve  all,  Columbus  under- 
stood that  the  sea  continued  round  to  this  kingdom  of  Ciguare,  and 
that  ten  days  beyond  it  was  the  Ganges. 

These  were  evidently  rumors  of  the  distant  kingdom  of 
Mexico,  imperfectly  interpreted  to  Columbus,  and  shaped  and  col- 
ored by  his  imagination.  He  concluded  that  this  country  must  be 
some  province  belonging  to  the  Grand  Khan,  and  must  lie  on  the 
opposite  side  of  a  peninsula,  and  that  he  would  soon  arrive  at  a 
strait  leading  into  the  Indian  Sea,  which  washed  its  shores.  The 
supposed  vicinity  of  the  Ganges  caused  no  surprise,  as  he  had 
adopted  the  opinion  of  certain  ancient  philosophers,  who  gave  the 
world  a  smaller  circumference  than  was  generally  imagined,  and 
but  fifty-six  miles  and  two-thirds  to  a  degree  of  the  equinoctial 
line. 

With  these  erroneous  but  ingenious  ideas,  Columbus  continued 
to  press  forward  in  search  of  the  imaginary  strait,  contending  with 
adverse  winds  and  currents,  and  meeting  with  great  hostility  from 
the  natives ;  for  the  Indians  of  these  coasts  were  fierce  and  war- 
like, and  many  of  the  tribes  are  supposed  to  have  been  of  Carib 
origin.  At  sight  of  the  ships,  the  forests  would  resound  with  yells 
and  war-whoops,  with  wooden  drums,  and  the  blasts  of  conchs,  and 
on  landing  the  shores  would  be  lined  with  savage  warriors  armed 
with  clubs,  and  lances,  and  swords  of  palm  wood. 

At  length,  having  discovered  and  named  Puerto  Bello,  and 
continued  beyond  Cape  Nombre  de  Dios,  Columbus  arrived  at  a 
small  and  narrow  harbor,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  El  Retrete, 
or  The  Cabinet.  Here  he  had  reached  the  point,  to  which  Bastides, 
an  enterprising  voyager,  coasting  from  the  eastward,  had  recently 
explored.  Whether  Columbus  knew  or  not  of  the  voyage  of  this 
discoverer,  does  not  clearly  appear,  but  hei'e  he  was  induced  to 
give  up  all  further  attempt  to  find  the  strait.  The  seamen  were 
disheartened  by  the  constant  opposition  of  the  winds  and  currents, 
and  by  the  condition  of  the  ships,  which  were  pierced  in  all  parts 
by  the  teredo  or  worm,  so  destructive  in  the  tropical  seas.  They 
considered  themselves  still  under  an  evil  spell,  worked  by  the  In- 


352 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


dian  sorcerers,  and  the  commanders  remonstrated  against  forcing 
their  way  any  farther  in  spite  of  the  elements,  with  ships  so  crazed 
and  leaky.  Columbus  yielded  to  their  solicitations,  and  determined 
to  return  to  the  coast  of  Veragua,  and  search  for  the  mines  which 
were  said  to  abound  there. 

Here,  then,  ended  the  lofty  anticipations  which  had  elevated 
him  above  all  mercenar}^  views  in  his  struggle  along  these  perilous 
coasts,  and  had  given  a  heroic  character  to  the  earhy  part  of  his 
voyage.  It  is  true,  he  had  been  in  pursuit  of  a  mere  chimera,  but 
it  was  the  chimera  of  a  splendid  imagination  and  a  penetrating 
judgment.  The  subsequent  discovery  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  bathing 
the  opposite  shores  of  that  narrow  isthmus,  has  proved  that  a  great 
part  of  his  theory  was  well  founded. 


INDIAN  FROM  THE  MOSQUITO  COAST  (MODERN). 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 


RETURN    TO    THE    COAST    OF    VERACUA.      CONTESTS    WITH    THE    NATIVES.      HS02.) 


the  5th  of  December,  Columbus 
sailed  from  El  Retrete,  to  re- 
turn westward  in  search  of 
the  gold  mines  of  Veragua. 
He  had  not  proceeded  far,  how- 
Iv  ever,  when  the  wind  suddenly- 
veered  to  the  west,  the  point 
from  whence,  for  three  months, 
he  had  been  wishing  it  to  blow, 
but  from  whence  it  now  came 
only  to  contradict  him.  In  a  little 
while  it  became  so  variable  and  furious  as 
to  baffle  all  seamanship.  For  nine  days  the  vessels  were  tossed 
about,  at  the  mercy  of  a  raging  tempest,  in  an  unknown  sea,  and 
often  exposed  to  the  awful  perils  of  a  lee  shore.  The  sea,  accord- 
ing to  the  description  of  Columbus,  boiled  at  times  like  a  cauldron; 
at  other  times  it  ran  in  mountain  waves,  covered  with  foam.  At 
night,  the  raging  billows  sparkled  with  luminous  particles  which 
made  them  resemble  great  surges  of  flame.  For  a  day  and  a  night 
the  heavens  glowed  like  a  furnace  with  incessant  flashes  of  light- 
ning; while  the  loud  claps  of  thunder  were  often  mistaken  by  the 
mariners  for  signal  guns  of  distress  from  their  foundering  compan- 
ions. During  the  whole  time  there  was  such  a  deluge  of  rain,  that 
the  seamen  were  almost  drowned  in  their  open  vessels. 

In  the  midst  of  this  wild  tumult  of  the  elements  they  beheld 
a  new  object  of  alarm.     The  ocean  in  one  place  became  strangely 


(353) 


THE  SHIPS  OF  COLUMBUS  THREATENED   WITH   ENTIRE   DESTRUCTION    BY   WATER   SPOUTS. 


OF   COLUMBUS.  355 

agitated.  The  water  was  whirled  up  into  a  kind  of  Pyramid  or 
cone,  while  a  livid  cloud,  tapering  to  a  point,  bent  down  to  meet  it. 
Joining  together,  they  formed  a  column,  which  rapidly  approached 
the  ships,  spinning  along  the  surface  of  the  deep,  and  drawing  up 
the  waters  with  a  rushing  sound.  The  affrighted  mariners,  when 
they  beheld  this  waterspout  advancing  towards  them,  despaired  of 
averting  it  by  human  means,  and  began  to  repeat  certain  passages 
from  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  The  waterspout  passed  close  by 
their  ships  without  injuring  them,  and  they  attributed  their  escape 
to  the  miraculous  efficacy  of  their  quotations  from  the  Scriptures. 

An  interval  of  calm  succeeded,  but  even  this  afforded  but  little 
consolation  to  the  tempest-tossed  mariners,  the)'  looked  upon  it  as 
deceitful,  and  beheld  with  alarm  great  numbers  of  sharks,  so  abun- 
dant and  ravenous  in  those  latitudes,  roaming  about  the  ships. 
Among  the  superstitions  of  the  seas  is  the  belief  that  these  vora- 
cious fish  have  not  only  the  faculty  of  smelling  dead  bodies  at  a 
distance,  but  have  a  presentiment  of  their  prey,  and  keep  about 
vessels  which  have  sick  persons  on  board,  or  which  are  in  danger 
of  being  wrecked. 

For  three  weeks  longer  they  continued  to  be  driven  to  and 
fro,  by  changeable  and  tempestuous  winds,  endeavoring  to  make  a 
distance  of  merely  thirty  leagues,  insomuch  that  Columbus  gave 
this  line  of  seaboard  the  name  of  La  Costa  dc  los  Coiitrastcs,  or  the 
Coast  of  Contradictions.  At  length,  to  his  great  joy,  he  arrived,  on 
the  day  of  Epiphany,  (the  6th  of  January)  on  the  coast  of  Veragua, 
and  anchored  in  a  river  to  which,  in  honor  of  the  day,  he  gave  the 
name  of  Belen  or  Bethlehem. 

The  natives  of  the  neighborhood  manifested  the  same  fierce 
and  warlike  character  that  generally  prevailed  along  this  coast. 
They  were  soon  conciliated,  however,  and  brought  many  ornaments 
of  fine  gold  to  traffic ;  but  assured  the  admiral  that  the  mines  lay 
near  the  river  Veragua,  which  was  about  two  leagues  distant.  The 
adelantado  had  an  interview  with  Ouibian,  the  cacique  of  Veragua, 
who  afterwards  visited  the  ships.  He  was  a  stern  warrior,  of  tall 
and  powerful  frame,  and  taciturn  and  cautious  character.  A  few 
days  afterwards,  the  adelantado,  attended  by  sixty-eight  men,  well 
armed,  proceeded  to  explore  the  Veragua,  and  seek  its  reputed 
mines.  They  ascended  the  river  about  a  league  and  a  half,  to  the 
village  of  Quibian,  which  was  situated  on  a  hill.     The  cacique  de- 

20 


356 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


.JON    BARTHOLOMEW 
FORESTS   OF 


scended  with  a  numerous  train  of  his  subjects,  unarmed,  and  took 
his  seat  on  a  great  stone,  which  one  of  his  attendants  drew  out  of 
the  river.  He  received  his  guests  with  courtesy,  for  the  lofty,  vig- 
orous, and  iron  form  of  the  adelantado,  and  his  resolute 
demeanor,  were  calculated  to  inspire  awe  and  respect  in 
an  Indian  warrior.  Though  his  jealousy  was  evidently 
awakened  by  the  intrusion  of  the  Spaniards  into  his  ter- 
ritories, yet  he  readily  furnished  Don  Bartholomew  with 
guides,  to  conduct  him  to  the  mines.  These  guides  led 
the  adelantado  and  his  men  about  six  leagues  into  the  in- 
terior, among  thick  forests  of  lofty  and  magnificent  trees, 
where  they  told  them  the  mines  were  situated.  In  fact, 
the  whole  soil  appeared  impregnated  with  gold,  and  the 
Spaniards  collected  a  considerable  quantity  from  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  from  among  the  roots  of  the 
trees.  From  hence,  the  adelantado  was  conducted  to  the 
summit  of  a  high  hill,  which  overlooked  an  immense  ex- 
tent of  countr\-,  with  various  villages,  and  the  guides  as- 
sured him,  that  the  whole  land,  to  the  distance  of  twenty 
days'  journey  westward,  abounded  in  gold. 

Another  expedition  of  Don  Bartholomew  along  the 
coast,  westward,  was  equally  satisfactor}' ; 
and  the  reports  which  he  brought  of  golden 
tracts  of  country,  together  with  the  rumors 
of  a  rich  and  civilized  kingdom  in  the  in- 
terior, and  the  erroneous  idea  with  respect 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  Ganges,  all  concurred 
to  produce  a  new  illusion  in  the  ardent  mind 
of  Columbus.  He  fancied  that  he  had  actu- 
ally arrived  at  the  Aurea  Chersonesus,  from 
whence,  according  to  Josephus,  the  gold  had 
been  procured  for  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  Here, 
then,  was  a  place  at  which  to  found  a  colony,  and  establish  a  mart, 
which  should  become  an  emporium  of  the  wealth  of  a  vast  region 
of  mines.  His  brother,  Don  Bartholomew,  concurred  with  him  in 
opinion,  and  agreed  to  remain  here  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
people,  while  the  admiral  should  return  to  Spain  for  supplies  and 
reinforcements. 

They  immediately  proceeded  to  carry  their  plan  into  operation. 


COLUMBUS   ON   THE    ROAD   THROUGH    THE   VIRGIN 
VERAGUA    TO    THE   REPUTED   GOLD    MINES. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


357 


Eighty  men  were  selected  to  remain.  Houses  of  wood,  thatched 
with  palm  leaves,  were  erected  on  the  high  bank  of  a  creek,  about 
a  bow-shot  within  the  mouth  of  the  river  Belen.  A  storehouse  was 
built  to  receive  part  of  the  ammunition,  artillery,  and  stores;  the 
rest  was  put  on  board  of  one  of  the  caravels,  which  was  to  be  left 
for  the  use  of  the  colon}-. 

The  houses  being  sufficiently  finished  to  be  habitable,  the  ad- 
miral prepared  for  his  departure,  when  he  found,  to  his  surprise, 
that  the  river,  which  on  his  arrival  had  been  swollen  by  rain,  had 
subsided  to  such  a  degree,  that  there  was  not  above  half  a  fathom 
of  water  on  the  bar.  Though  his  vessels  were  small,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  draw  them  over  the  sands  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  on  ac- 
count of  a  heavy  surf.  He  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  wait  until  the 
rains  should  again  swell  the  river. 

In  the  mean  time,  Quibian  beheld  with  secret  indignation 
these  strangers  intruding  themselves  into  his  dominions.  Colum- 
bus had  sought  to  secure  his  friendship  by  various  presents,  but  in 
vain.  The  cacique,  ignorant  of  the  vast  superiority  of  the  Euro- 
peans in  the  art  of  war,  thought  it  easy  to  overwhelm-  and  destroy 
them.  He  sent  messengers  around,  and  ordered  all  his  fighting 
men  to  assemble  at  his  residence,  under  pretext  of  ma'king  war 
upon  a  neighboring  province.  The  movements  of  the  Indians 
awakened  the  suspicions  of  one  Diego  Mendez,  chief  notary  of  the 
armament.  He  was  a  man  of  zeal  and  spirit,  of  a  shrewd 
and  prying  character,  and  entirely  devoted  to  the  admiral. 
He  mingled  among  the  Indians,  and  observed  circumstances 
which  satisfied  him  that  they  were  meditating  an  attack. 
The  admiral  was  loth  to  believe  it,  and  was  desirous  of 
clearer  information,  before  he  took  any  step 
that  might  interrupt  the  pacific  intercourse 
that  yet  prevailed.  The  indefatigable 
Mendez  now  undertook  a  service  of  life  and 
death.  Accompanied  by  a  few  friendly  In- 
dians, he  penetrated  as  a  spy  to  the  very 
residence  of  Quibian,  who  they  heard  had 
been  wounded  in  the  leg  by  an  arrrow. 
Mendez  gave  himself  out  as  a  surgeon 
come  to  cure  the  wound,  and  made  his  way 
to  the  mansion  of  the  grim  warrior,  which 


DIEGO    MENDEZ    APPROACHING   THE    VILLAGE    OF    THE   CACIQUE    QL    3   i"»- 


35§  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

was  situated  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  and  surrounded  by  three  hundred 
heads,  on  stakes  ;  dismal  trophies  of  the  enemies  he  had  vanquished 
in  battle.  Undismayed  by  this  sight,  Mendez  endeavored  to  enter, 
but  was  met  at  the  threshold  by  the  son  of  the  caciqtie,  who  re- 
pulsed him  with  a  violent  blow,  that  made  him  recoil  several  paces. 
He  managed  to  pacify  the  furious  young  savage,  by  taking  out  a 
box  of  ointment,  and  assuring  him  that  he  only  came  for  the  pur- 
pose of  curing  his  father's  wounds.  He  then  made  him  presents 
of  a  comb,  scissors,  and  mirror,  taught  him  and  his  Indians  the  use 
of  them  in  cutting  and  arranging  their  hair,  and  thus  ingratiated 
himself  with  them  by  administering  to  their  vanity.  It  was  im- 
possible, however,  to  gain  admittance  to  the  cacique  ;  but  Mendez 
saw  enough  to  convince  him  that  the  attack  was  about  to  be  carried 
into  effect,  and  that  it  was  merely  delayed  by  the  wound  of  the 
cacique  ;  he  hastened  back,  therefore,  to  Columbus  with  the  intelli- 
gence. 

An  Indian  interpreter,  a  native  of  the  neighborhood,  corrobor- 
ated the  report  of  Mendez.  He  informed  the  admiral  that  Ouibian 
intended  to  come  secretly  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  with  all  his 
warriors,  to  set  fire  to  the  ships  and  houses,  and  massacre  the 
Spaniards. 

When  the  adelantado  heard  of  this  plot,  he  conceived  a  coun- 
terplot to  defeat  it,  which  he  carried  into  effect  with  his  usual 
promptness  and  resolution.  Taking  with  him  seventy-four  men, 
well  armed,  among  whom  was  Diego  Mendez,  and  being  accompa- 
nied by  the  Indian  interpreter  who  had  revealed  the  conspiracy,  he 
set  off  in  boats  to  the  mouth  of  the  Veragua,  ascended  it  rapidly, 
and  landed  in  the  night  at  the  village  of  the  cacique,  before  the 
Indians  could  have  notice  of  his  approach.  Lest  Quibian  should 
take  the  alarm  and  fly,  he  ascended  to  his  house,  accompanied  only 
by  Diego  Mendez  and  four  other  men,  ordering  the  rest  to  come  on 
gradually  and  secretly,  and  at  the  discharge  of  an  arquebuse  to  rush 
up  and  surround  the  house,  and  suffer  no  one  to  escape. 

The  cacique,  hearing  of  his  approach,  came  forth,  and  seating 
himself  in  the  portal,  desired  him  to  advance  singly.  Don  Bar- 
tholomew complied,  ordering  Diego  Mendez  and  his  four  compan- 
ions to  remain  at  a  little  distance,  but  to  rush  to  his  aid  at  a  con- 
certed signal.  He  then  advanced,  addressed  the  cacique  by  means 
of  the  interpreter,  inquired  about  his  wound,  and  pretending  to 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


359 


examine  it,  took  him  by  the  arm.  This  was  the  signal,  at  which 
four  of  the  Spaniards  rushed  forward,  the  fifth  discharged  the  ar- 
quebuse.  A  violent 
struggle  ensued  be- 
tween Dou  Bar- 
tholomew a  n  d 
the  cacique,  who 
were  both  men  of 
great  muscular  force 
but,  with  the  assist 
ance  of  Diego 
Mendez  and  his 
companions,  Qui- 
bian  w  a  s  over- 
powered,  and 
bound  hand  and 
foot.  In  the  mean- 
time the  main  body 
of  the  Spaniards  sur- 
rounded the  house,  and  captured  the 
wives  and  children  of  the  cacique,  and  sev- 
eral of  his  principal  subjects.  The  prison- 
ers were  sent  off  to  the  ships,  while  the  adelautado,  with  a  part  of 
his  men,  remained  on  shore  to  pursue  the  Indians  who  had  escaped. 
The  cacique  was  conveyed  to  the  boats  by  Juan  Sanchez,  the 
principal  pilot  of  the  squadron,  a  powerful  and  spirited  man.  The 
adelantado  charged  him  to  be  on  his  guard  against  any  attempt  at 
rescue  or  escape.  The  sturdy  pilot  replied,  that  if  the  cacique  es- 
caped from  his  clutches  he  would  give  them  leave  to  pluck  out  his 
beard  hair  by  hair.  On  arriving  at  the  boat,  he  secured  his  pris- 
oner by  a  strong  cord  to  one  of  the  benches.  It  was  a  dark  night ; 
as  the  boat  proceeded  down  the  river,  the  cacique  complained  pite- 
ously  of  the  painfulness  of  his  bonds,  until  the  rough  heart  of  the 
pilot  was  touched  with  compassion.  He  loosened  the  cord,  there- 
fore, by  which  Ouibian  was  tied  to  the  bench,  keeping  the  end  of  it 
in  his  hand.  The  wily  Indian  now  watched  his  opportunity,  and 
plunged  suddenly  into  the  water  with  such  violence  that  the  pilot 
had  to  let  go  the  cord,  lest  he  should  be  drawn  in  after  him.  The 
darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  bustle  which  took  place  in  prevent- 


ff"n;5h:  fe 


VIOLENT  STRUGGLE  BETWEEN    THE  CACIQUE   QUIBIAN  AND 
THE  ADELANTAOO. 


36° 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


ing  the  escape  of  the  other  prisoners,  rendered  it  impossible  to 
pursue  the  cacique,  or  eveu  to  ascertain  his  fate.  Juan  Sanchez 
hastened  to  the  ships  with  the  residue  of  the  captives,  deeply  mort- 
ified at  being  thus  outwitted  by  a  savage. 

The  adelantado  remained  all  night  on  shore,  but  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  seeing  the  wild  and  rugged  nature  of  the  country,  he 
gave  up  all  further  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  and  returned  to  the 
ships  with  the  spoils  of  the  cacique's  mansion,  consisting  of  brace- 
lets, anklets,  and  massive  plates  of  gold,  and  two  golden  coronets. 
One-fifth  of  the  booty  was  set  apart  for  the  crown,  the  residue  was 
shared  among  those  concerned  in  the  enterprise,  and  one  of  the 
coronets  was  assigned  to  the  adelantado  as  a  trophy  of  his  exploit. 


BOTTOM    OF    AN    ENAMELED   CUP    FOUND    IN    THE   CEMETERY    OF 

TENENEPANGO,    MEXICO. 
SIMILAR  IN  WORKMANSHIP  TO  POTTERY  FOUND  IN  COSTA   RICA. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 


DISASTERS    OF    THE    SETTLEMENT.     (1503.) 


ATISFIED  that  the  vigorous  measures  of  the  adelantado 
had  struck  terror  into  the  Indians,  and  crushed  their 
hostile  designs,  Columbus  took  advantage  of  a  swelling 
of  the  river,  to  pass  the  bar  with  three  of  his  caravels, 

leaving  the  fourth  for  the  use  of  the  settlement.    He  then  anchored 

within  a  league  of  the  shore,  until  a  favorable  wind  should  spring 

up  for  Hispaniola. 

The  cacique  Quibian  had  not  perished  in  the  river,  as  some 

had  supposed.     Plunging  to  the  bottom,    -  ~ 

he  swam  for  some  distance  below  the  sur-  T- 

face,  and  then  emerging,  escaped  to  the  j 

shore.     His  home,  however,  was  desolate,  I 

and  to  complete  his  despair,  he  saw  the 

vessels  standing  out  to  sea,  bearing  away 

his  wives  and  children  captives.     Furious 

for  revenge,  he  gathered  together  a  great 

number  of  his  warriors,  and  assailed  the 

settlement  when  the  Spaniards  were  scat- 
tered and  off  their  guard.     The  Indians 

launched  their  javelins  through  the  roofs 

of  the  houses,  which  were  of  palm  leaves, 

or  hurled  them    in    at    the  windows,  or 

thrust  them  between  the  logs  which  com- 
posed the  walls,  and  wounded  several  of 

the  Spaniards.     On  the  first  alarm,  the 

adelantado   seized    a    sword,  and    sallied 

forth   with  seven  or  eight  of  his  men ; 


THE    ADELANTADO   WOUNDED    BY    ONE    OF    QUIBIAN'S   WARRIORS. 


3«I) 


362  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

Diego  Mendez  brought  several  others  to  his  assistance.  They  had 
a  short  skirmish ;  one  Spaniard  was  killed,  and  eight  wounded ; 
the  adelantado  received  a  thrust  in  the  breast  with  a  javelin  ;  but 
they  succeeded  in  repulsing  the  Indians,  with  considerable  loss,  and 
driving  them  into  the  forest. 

During  the  skirmish,  a  boat  came  on  shore  from  the  ships  to 
procure  wood  and  water.  It  was  commanded  by  Diego  Tristan, 
a  captain  of  one  of  the  caravels.  When  the  Indians  were  put  to 
flight,  he  proceeded  up  the  river,  in  quest  of  fresh  water,  disregard- 
ing the  warning  counsels  of  those  on  shore. 

The  boat  had  ascended  about  a  league  above  the  village,  to  a 
part  of  the  river  overshadowed  by  lofty  banks  and  spreading  trees. 
Suddenly  the  forest  resounded  with  yells  and  war-whoops,  and  the 
blasts  of  conchs.  A  shower  of  missiles  was  rained  from  the  shores, 
and  canoes  darted  out  from  creeks  and  coves,  filled  with  warriors, 
brandishing  their  weapons.  The  Spaniards,  losing  all  presence  of 
mind,  neglected  to  use  their  firearms,  and  only  sought  to  shelter 
themselves  with  their  bucklers.  The  captain,  Diego  Tristan,  though 
covered  with  wounds,  endeavored  to  animate  his  men,  when  a  jave- 
lin pierced  his  right  eye,  and  struck  him  dead.  The  canoes  now 
closed  upon  the  boat,  and  massacred  the  crew.  One  Spaniard  alone 
escaped,  who,  having  fallen  overboard,  dived  to  the  bottom,  swam 
under  water,  and  escaped  unperceived  to  shore,  bearing  tidings  of 
the  massacre  to  the  settlement.  The  Spaniards  were  so  alarmed 
at  the  intelligence,  and  at  the  thoughts  of  the  dangers  that  were 
thickening  around  them,  that,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances 
of  the  adelantado,  they  determined  to  embark  in  the  caravel,  and 
abandon  the  place  altogether.  On  making  the  attempt,  however, 
thej-  found  that,  the  torrents  having  subsided,  the  river  was  again 
shallow,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  caravel  to  pass  over  the  bar. 
A  high  sea  and  boisterous  surf  also  prevented  their  sending  off  a 
boat  to  the  admiral,  with  intelligence  of  their  danger.  While  thus 
cut  off  from  all  retreat  or  succor,  horrors  increased  upon  them. 
The  mangled  bodies  of  Diego  Tristan  and  his  men  came  floating 
down  the  stream,  and  drifted  about  the  harbor,  with  flights  of 
crows  and  other  carrion  birds  feeding  on  them,  and  hovering,  and 
screaming,  and  fighting  about  their  prey. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  dismal  sound  of  conchs  and  war  drums 
was  heard  in  every  direction  in  the  bosom  of  the  surrounding  for- 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


363 


est,  showing  that  the  enemy  was  augmenting  in  number,  and  pre- 
paring for  further  hostilities.  The  adelantado,  therefore,  deemed 
it  unsafe  to  remain  in  the  village,  which  was  adjacent  to  the  woods. 
He  chose  an  open  place  on  the  shore,  where  he  caused  a  kind  of 
bulwark  to  be  made  of  the  boat  of  the  caravel,  and  of  casks  and  sea 
chests.  Two  places  were  left  open  as  embrasures,  in  which  were 
mounted  a  couple  of  falconets,  or  small  pieces  of  artillery.  In  this 
little  fortress,  the  Spaniards  shut  themselves  up,  and  kept  the  Indi- 
ans at  a  distance  by  the  terror  of  their  firearms ;  but  they  were 
exhausted  by  watching  and  by  incessant  alarms, 
and  looked  forward  with  despondency  to  the 
time  when  their  ammunition  should  be  ex- 
hausted, or  they  should  be  driven  forth  by 
hunger  to  seek  for  food. 

While  the  Spaniards  were  exposed  to 
such  imminent  peril  on  shore,  great  anxiety 
prevailed  on  board  of  the  ships.  Day  after 
day  elapsed  without  the  return  of  Diego 
Tristan  and  his  party,  and  it  was  feared 
that  some  disaster  had  befallen  them.  But 
one  boat  remained  for  the  service  of  the  ships, 
and  they  dared  not  risk  it  in  the  rough  sea 
and  heavy  surf,  to  send  it  on  shore  for  in- 
telligence. A  circumstance  occurred  to  in- 
crease the  anxiety  of  the  crews.  The  Indian 
prisoners  were  confined  in  the  forecastle  of 
one  of  the  caravels.  In  the  night  they  sud- 
denly burst  open  the  hatch,  several  flung 
themselves  into  the  sea,  and  swam  to  the  shore ; 


NDIAN     PRISONERS    MAKE    A    BREAK    FOR    LIBERTY,  BY    THROWING 
THEMSELVES    HEADLONG    INTO   THE    SEA    FROM    THE 


FORECASTLE    OF    THE    CARAV6U 


the  rest  were  secured  and  forced  back  into  the 
forecastle,  but  such  was  their  unconquerable  spirit  and  their  des- 
pair, that  they  hanged  or  strangled  themselves  with  ends  of  cords 
which  lay  about  in  their  prison,  and  in  the  morning  were  all  found 
dead. 

The  escape  of  some  of  the  prisoners  gave  great  uneasiness  to 
the  admiral,  fearing  they  would  stimulate  their  countrymen  to  some 
new  act  of  vengeance.  Still  it  was  impossible  to  send  a  boat  on 
shore.  At  length  one  Pedro  Ledesma,  a  man  of  great  strength 
and  resolution,  volunteered,  if  the  boat  would  take  him  to  the  edge 


364  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

of  the  surf,  to  plunge  into  the  sea,  swim  to  the  shore,  and  bring  off 
intelligence.  He  succeeded,  and,  on  his  return,  informed  the  admi- 
ral of  all  the  disasters  of  the  settlement ;  the  attack  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  massacre  of  Diego  Tristan  and  his  boat's  crew.  He  found 
the  Spaniards  in  their  forlorn  fortress,  in  a  complete  state  of  insub- 
ordination. They  were  preparing  canoes  to  take  them  to  the  ships, 
when  the  weather  should  moderate.  They  threatened  that,  if  the 
admiral  refused  to  take  them  on  board,  they  would  embark  in  the 
remaining  caravel,  as  soon  as  it  could  be  extricated  from  the  river, 
and  would  abandon  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  seas,  rather  than 
continue  on  that  fatal  coast. 

The  admiral  was  deeply  afflicted  at  this  intelligence,  but  there 
appeared  no  alternative  but  to  embark  all  the  people,  abandon  the 
settlement  for  the  present,  and  return  at  a  future  da}-,  with  a  force 
competent  to  take  secure  possession  of  the  country.  The  state  of 
the  weather  rendered  the  execution  even  of  this  plan  doubtful. 
The  high  wind  and  boisterous  waves  still  prevented  communica- 
tion, and  the  situation  of  those  at  sea,  in  crazy  and  feebly  manned 
ships,  on  a  lee  shore,  was  scarcely  less  perilous  than  that  of  their 
comrades  on  the  land.  Every  hour  increased  the  anxiety  of  the 
admiral.  Days  of  constant  perturbation,  and  nights  of  sleepless 
anguish,  preyed  upon  a  constitution  broken  by  age  and  hardships. 
Amidst  the  acute  maladies  of  the  body,  and  the  fever  of  the  mind, 
he  appears  to  have  been  visited  b}r  partial  delirium.  In  a  letter  to 
the  sovereigns,  he  gives  an  account  of  a  kind  of  vision,  which  com- 
forted him  when  full  of  despondency,  and  tossing  upon  a  couch  of 
pain.  In  the  silence  of  the  night,  when,  Avearied  and  sighing,  he 
had  fallen  into  a  slumber,  he  thought  he  heard  a  voice  reproaching 
him  with  his  want  of  confidence  in  God.  "Oh  fool,  and  slow  to 
believe  thy  God!"  exclaimed  the  voice;  "what  did  he  more  for 
Moses  or  for  his  servant  David?  From  the  time  that  thou  wert 
born  he  has  ever  taken  care  of  thee.  When  he  saw  thee  of  a  fitting 
age,  he  made  thy  name  to  resound  marvellously  throughout  the 
world.  The  Indies,  those  rich  parts  of  the  earth,  he  gave  thee  for 
thine  own,  and  empowered  thee  to  dispose  of  them  to  others  ac- 
cording to  thy  pleasure.  He  delivered  thee  the  keys  of  the  gates 
of  the  ocean  sea,  shut  up  by  such  mighty  chains,  and  thou  wert 
obeyed  in  many  lands,  and  didst  acquire  honorable  fame  among 
Christians.     *     *     *     *     Thou  dost  call  despondingly  for  succor. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


365 


Answer!  who  has  afflicted  thee?  God,  or  the  world?  The  privileges 
and  promises  which  God  has  made  thee,  he  has  never  broken.  He 
fulfills  all  that  he  promises,  and  with  increase.  Thy  present 
troubles  are  the  reward  of  the  toils  and  perils  thon  hast  endured  in 
serving  others."  Amidst  its  reproaches  the  voice  mingled  promises 
of  further  protection,  and  assurances  that  his  age  should  be  no  im- 
pediment to  any  great  undertaking. 

Such  is  the  vision  which  Columbus  circumstantially  relates  in 
a  letter  to  the  sovereigns.  The  words  here  spoken  by  a  supposed 
voice,  are  truths  which  dwelt  upon  his  mind  and  agitated  his  spirit 
in  his  waking  hours;  it  is  natural,  therefore,  that  they  should  recur 
vividly  in  his  feverish  dreams.  He  had  a  solemn  belief  that  he  was  a 
peculiar  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  which,  together 
with  a  deep  tinge  of  superstition,  common  to  the  age,  made  him 
prone  to  mistake  every  striking  dream  for  a  revelation. 

His  error  was  probably  confirmed  by  subsequent  circumstances. 
Immediately  after  the  supposed  vision,  and  after  nine  days  of 
boisterous  weather,  the  wind  subsided,  the  sea  became  calm,  and 
the  adelantado  and  his  companions  were  happily  rescued  from  their 
perilous  situation,  and  embarked  on  board  of  the  ships.  Every 
thing  of  value  was  likewise  brought  on  board,  and  nothing  re- 
mained but  the  hull  of  the  caravel,  which  could  not  be  extricated 
from  the  river.  Diego  Mendez  was  extremely  efficient  in  bringing 
off  the  people  and  the  property;  and,  in  reward  of  his  zeal  and 
services,  the  admiral  gave  him  the  command  of  the  caravel,  vacant 
by  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  Diego  Tristan. 


CHAPTER    XL. 


VOYAGE  TO   JAMAICA.       TRANSACTIONS   AT  THAT   ISLAND.     11503. t 


HOWARDS  the  end  of  April,  Columbus 
set  sail  from  the  disastrous  coast  of 
■  Veragua.  The  wretched  condition  of 
his  ships,  the  enfeebled  state  of  his 
crews,  and  the  scarcity  of  provisions, 
determined  him  to  make  the  best  of 
his  way  for  Hispaniola  :  but  it  was  nec- 
essary, before  standing  across  for  that 
l\y  island,  to  gain  a  considerable  distance  to 
the  east,  to  avoid  being  swept  away  far 
below  their  destined  port  by  the  cur- 
rents. The  pilots  and  mariners,  who 
had  not  studied  the  navigation  of  these 
seas  with  an  equally  experienced  and  ob- 
va  servant  eye,  fancied,  when  Columbus  stood 
along  the  coast  to  the  east,  that  he  intended  to 
proceed  immediately  to  Spain,  and  murmured 
loudly  at  the  madness  of  attempting  so  long  a  vo3?age,  with  ships 
destitute   of  stores  and   consumed    by   the   worms.       The   admiral 


L366) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


367 


did  not  impart  his  reasons,  for  he  was  disposed  to  make  a  mys- 
tery of  his  routes,  seeing  the  number  of  private  adventurers  daily 
crowding  into  his  track. 

Continuing  along  the  coast  eastward,  he  was  obliged  to  aban- 
don one  of  the  caravels  in  the  harbor  of  Puerto  Bello,  being  so 
pierced  by  the  teredo  that  it  was  impossible  to  keep  her  afloat.  He 
then  proceeded  about  ten  leagues  beyond  Point  Bias,  near  to  what 
is  at  present  called  the  gulf  of  Darien,  and  which  he  supposed  to 
be  the  province  of  Mangi,  in  the  territories  of  the  Grand  Khan. 
Here  he  bade  farewell  to  the  ma'.u  land,  and  stood  northward  on 
the  first  of  May,  in  quest' of  Hispaniola.  Notwithstanding  all  his 
precautions,  however,  he  was  carried  so  far  west  by  the  currents,  as 
to  arrive,  on  the  30th  of  May,  among  the  cluster  of  islands  called 
the  Queen's  Gardens,  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba.  During  this  time, 
his  crews  had  suffered  excessively  from  hunger  and  fatigue.  They 
were  crowded  into  two  caravels,  little  better  than  mere  wrecks,  and 
which  were  scarcely  kept  afloat  by  incessant  labor  at  the  pump. 
They  were  enfeebled  by  scanty  diet,  and  dejected  by  a  variety  of 

hardships.     A  violent 
storm,   on    the    coast   of 
Cuba,  drove  the  vessels 
upon    each    other,    and 
shattered  them  to  such 
a    degree,    that    the    ad- 
miral,   after    struggling 
as     far    as    Cape    Cruz, 
gave  up  all    further  at- 
tempt to  navigate  them 
to  Hispaniola,  and  stood 
over,  in  search  of  a  secure  port,  on  the  island 
of  Jamaica.     Here,  on  the   24th  of  June,    they 
anchored  in  a  harbor,  to  which  the  admiral  gave 
Uhe  name  of  Port  San  Gloria. 

Seeing  that  his  ships  were  no  longer  capa- 
ble of   standing    the  sea,    and   were   in  danger 
of    foundering    even    in     port,    Columbus    ran 
them    aground,  within    bowshot    of  the   shore, 
where  they  were  fastened  together  side  by  side.     They  soon  filled 
with  water.      Thatched  cabins  were  then  erected  at  the  prow  and 


COLUMBUS  RUNS   THE  CARAVEL  AGROUND 
ON    THE  ISLAND  OF  JAMAICA. 


368 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


stern  to  shelter  the  crews,  and  the  wreck  was  placed  in  the  best 
possible  state  of  defense.    Thus  castled  in  the  sea,  Columbus  trusted 

to  be  able  to  repel  any  sudden  attack  of 
the  natives,  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep 
his  men  under  proper  restraint.  No  one 
was  permitted  to  go  on  shore  without 
especial  license,  and  the  utmost  precau- 
tion was  taken  to  prevent  any  offence 
being  given  to  the  Indians,  who  soon 
swarmed  to  the  harbor  with  provisions, 
as  any  exasperation  of  them  might  be 
fatal  to  the  Spaniards  in  their  present 
forlorn  situation.  Two  persons  were  ap- 
pointed to  superintend  all  bargains,  and 
the  provisions  thus  obtained  were  divided 
every  evening  among  the  people.  As 
the  immediate  neighborhood,  however, 
might  soon  be  exhausted,  the  zealous 
and  intrepid  Diego  Mendez  made  a  tour 
in  the  interior,  accompanied  by  three 
men,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  ca- 
ciques at  a  distance  to  furnish  daily  sup- 
plies at  the  harbor,  in  exchange  for  Eu- 
ropean trinkets.  He  returned  in  tri- 
umph, in  a  canoe  which  he  had  purchased 
from  the  Indians,  and  which  he  had  freighted  with  provisions, 
and  through  his  able  arrangement  the  Spaniards  were  regularlv 
supplied. 

The  immediate  wants  of  his  people  being  thus  provided  for, 
Columbus  revolved  in  his  anxious  mind  the  means  of  getting  from 
this  island.  His  ships  were  beyond  the  possibility  of  repair,  and  there 
was  no  hope  of  a  chance  sail  arriving  to  his  relief,  on  the  shores 
of  a  savage  island,  in  an  unfrequented  sea.  At  length,  a  mode  of 
relief  occurred  to  him,  through  the  means  of  this  same  Diego 
Mendez  whose  courage  and  loyalty  he  had  so  often  proved.  He 
took  him  aside  to  sound  him  on  the  subject,  and  Mendez  himself 
has  written  an  account  of  this  interesting  conversation,  which  is 
full  of  character. 

"  Diego  Mendez,  my  son,"  said  the  venerable  admiral,  "  of  all 


J  FOH    BARTER   TO   THE   SHIPWRECKED   CREW  OF 
COLUMBUS. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


569 


which 
ndiaus 
provo- 


thosc  who  are  here,  you  and  I  alone  know  the  great  peril  in 
we  are  placed.     We  are  few  in  number,  and  these  savage  I 
are  many,  and  of  fickle  and  irritable  natures.     On  the  least 
cation,    they    may    throw     fire- 
brands from  the  shore,  and  con- 
sume   us   in   our  straw-thatched 
cabins.    The  arrangement  which 
you    have    made   for  provisions, 
and  which  at  present  they  fulfill 
so    cheerfully,   they    may    capri- 
ciously break  to-morrow,  and  may 
refuse    to   bring   us    any  thing; 
nor  have  we  the  means  of  com- 
pelling them.    I  have  thought  of 
a  remedy,  if  it  meets  your  views. 

Ill     tniS     CailOe     WniLll      yOU       IldVc  oiegomendez  visiting  the  inoian  villages  to  obtain  a  regular  supply  of  provisions 

purchased,   some    one  may   pass  F0R  THE  SHI™BECKED  CREWS- 

over  to  Hispaniola,  and  procure  a  ship,  by  which  we  shall  all  be  de- 
livered from  this  great  peril.    Tell  me  your  opinion  on  the  matter." 

"  Seiior,"  replied  Diego  Mendez,  "  I  well  know  our 
danger  to  be  far  greater  than   is  easily  conceived; 
but  as  to  passing  to  Hispaniola  in  so  small  a  ves- 
sel as  a  canoe,  I  hold  it  not  merely  difficult,  but 
impossible,   since    it    is    necessary   to    traverse 
a  gulf  of  forty  leagues,  and  between   islands 
where  the  sea  is  impetuous  and  seldom  in  re- 
pose.   I  know  not  who  there  is  would  venture 
upon  so  extreme  a  peril." 

Columbus  made  no  reply ;  but  from  his 
looks,  and  the  nature  of  his  silence,  Men- 
dez plainly  perceived  himself  to  be  the  per- 
son whom  the  admiral  had  in  view.     Resum- 
ing,   therefore,    the    conversation,   "  Seiior," 
said  he,  "  I  have  many  times  put  my  life  in 
peril  to  save  you  and  my  comrades,  and  God 
has    hitherto    preserved    me    in    a    miraculous 
manner.       There  are,  nevertheless,    niurmurers, 
who  say  that  your  Excellency  intrusts  to  me  every 
affair  wherein  honor  is  to  be  gained,  while  there 


LEGUANS,  A  SPECIES  OF  LIZARDS  HIGHLY  PRIZED  BY  THE 
NATIVES  OF  THE  ANTILLES  AS  AN   ARTICLE  OF   FOOD. 


37° 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


are  others  in  company  who  would  execute  them  as  well  as  I.  I 
beg,  therefore,  that  you  would  assemble  the  people,  aud  propose 
this  enterprise,  to  see  if  any  one  will  undertake  it,  which  I  doubt. 
If  all  decline,  I  will  then  come  forward  and  risk  my  life  in  your 
service,  as  I  have  many  times  done  already." 

The  admiral  willingly  humored  the  wishes  of  the  worthy  Men- 
dez ;  for  never  was  simple  vanity  accompanied  by  more  generous 
and  devoted  zeal. 

On  the  following  morning  the  crew  was  accordingly  assembled, 
and  the  proposition  made.  Every  one  drew  back,  pronouncing  it 
the  height  of  rashness.  Upon  this  Diego  Mendez  stepped  for- 
ward. "Sefior,"  said  he,  "I  have  but  one  life  to  lose,  yet  I  am 
willing  to  venture  it  for  your  service,  and  for  the 
good  of  all  here  present ;  and  I  trust  in  the  pro- 
tection of  God,  which  I  have  experienced  on  so 
man}'  other  occasions." 

Columbus  embraced   this   zealous  follower,  who 
immediately  set  about  preparing   for   the   expedi- 
tion.    Drawing  his  canoe  on  shore,  he  put  on  a 
false  keel  and  nailed  weatherboards  along  the  bow 
and  stern,  to  prevent  the  sea  from  break- 
ing over  it.      He  then   payed   it  with  a 
coat  of  tar,  furnished  it  with  a  mast  and 
sail,  and  put  in  provisions   for  himself, 
a  Spanish  comrade,  and  six  Indians. 

In  the  mean  while  Columbus  wrote 
a  letter  to  Ovando,  governor  of  Hispan- 
iola,  begging  that  a  ship  might  imme- 
diately be  sent  to  bring  him  and  his  men 
to  Hispaniola;  and  he  wrote  another  to 
the  sovereigns,  entreating  for  a  ship  to 
convey  them  from  Hispaniola  to  Spain. 
In  this  letter  he  gave  a  comprehensive  account  of  this  voyage, 
and  expressed  his  opinion  that  Veragua  was  the  Aurea  Chersoue- 
sus  of  the  ancients.  He  supposed  himself  to  have  reached  the 
confines  of  the  dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan,  and  offered,  if  he 
lived  to  return  to  Spain,  to  conduct  a  mission  thither  to  instruct 
that  potentate  in  the  Christian  faith.  What  an  instance  of  soaring 
enthusiasm  aud  irrepressible  enterprise  is  here  exhibited.     At  the 


COLUMBUS    THANKS    HIS    NOBLE    AND   ZEALOUS    FOLLOW 
FOR    HIS    DEVOTION    TO    HIS   CAUSE 


HEGO    i>iENDEZ, 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


37* 


-^-r'  '--r=- 


'.     ■ 


Ctf) 


time  he  was  indulging  these  visions,  and  proposing  new  and  ro- 
mantic enterprises,  he  was  broken  down  by  age  and  infirmities, 
racked  by  pain,  confined  to  his  bed,  and  shut  up  in  a  wreck  on  the 
coast  of  a  remote  and  savage  island. 

The  despatches  being  ready,  Diego  Mendez  embarked  with  his 
Spanish  comrade  and  his  six  Indians,  and  coasted  the  island  east- 
ward. Their  voyage  was  toilsome  and  perilous.  When  arrived  at 
the  end  of  the  island  they  were  suddenly  surrounded  and  taken 
prisoners  by  the  Indians,  who  carried  them  three  leagues  into  the 
interior,  where  they 
determined  to  kill 
them.  A  dispute  aris- 
ing about  the  division 
of  the  spoils,  they  soon 
became  embroiled  in  a 
general  fight ;  while 
thus  engaged,  Diego 
Mendez  escaped,  r  e  - 
gained  his  canoe,  and 
made  his  way  back  to 
the  harbor  in  it,  alone, 
after  fifteen  days'  ab- 
sence.  Nothing 
daunted  by  the  perils 
and  hardships  he  had 
undergone,  he  offered 
to  depart  immediately,  indian  fight. 

J  ,,  REPRODUCED    FROM   AN   ENGRAVING  BY  JEAN   DE   LEVY. 

on    a   second   attempt, 

provided  he  could  be  escorted  to  the  end  of  the  island  by  an  armed 
force.  His  offer  was  accepted,  and  Bartholomew  Fiesco,  a  Genoese, 
who  had  commanded  one  of  the  caravels,  and  was  strongly  attached 
to  the  admiral,  was  associated  with  him  in  this  second  expedition. 
Each  had  a  canoe,  with  six  Spaniards  and  ten  Indians  under  his 
command.  On  reaching  Hispaniola,  Fiesco  was  to  return  imme- 
diately to  Jamaica,  to  bring  tidings  to  the  admiral  of  the  safe  ar- 
rival of  his  messenger ;  while  Diego  Mendez  was  to  proceed  to  San 
Domingo,  and,  after  purchasing  and  despatching  a  ship,  was  to  de- 
part for  Spain  with  the  letter  to  the  sovereigns. 

All  arrangements  being  made,  the  Indians  placed  in  the  canoes 


21 


372 


THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 


a  supply  of  cassava  bread,  and  each  his  calabash  of  water.  The 
Spaniards,  beside  their  provisions,  had  each  his  sword  and  target. 
The  adelantado,  with  an  armed  band,  kept  pace  with  them  along 
the  coast,  until  they  reached  the  end  of  the  island,  where,  waiting 
for  three  days  until  the  weather  was  perfectly  serene,  they  launched 
forth  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  sea.  The  adelantado  remained 
watching  them,  until  they  became  mere  specks  on  the  ocean,  and 
the  evening  hid  them  from  his  view,  and  then  returned  to  the 
harbor. 


MONUMENT   OF    COtUVBUS    AT    BARCELONA. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


MUTINY   OF    PORRAS.      ECLIPSE   OF  THE    MOON.     STRATAGEM    OF   COLUMBUS  TO   PROCURE 
SUPPLIES   FROM   THE    INDIANS.     11503.) 


ONTHS  elapsed,  and  nothing  was  heard  of 
Mendez  and  Fieseo.  The  Spaniards,  en- 
feebled by  past  sufferings,  crowded  in  close 
quarters,  in  a  moist  and  sultry  climate,  and 
reduced  to  a  vegetable  diet,  to  which  they 
were  unaccustomed,  became  extremely  sick- 
ly, and  their  maladies  were  heightened  by 
anxiety  and  suspense.  Day  after  day,  and 
week  after  week,  they  kept  a  wistful  look-out  upon  the  sea  for  the 
expected  return  of  Fieseo,  flattering  themselves  that  even-  Indian 
canoe,  gliding  at  a  distance,  might  be  the  harbinger  of  deliverance. 
It  was  all  in  vain ;  and  at  length  they  began  to  fear  that  their  mes- 
sengers had  perished.  Some  gradually  sank  into  despondency; 
others  became  peevish  and  impatient,  and,  in  their  unreasonable 
heat,  railed  at  their  venerable  and  infirm  commander  as  the  cause 
of  all  their  misfortunes. 

Among  the  officers  of  Columbus  were  two  brothers,  Francisco 
and  Diego  Porras,  relations  of  the  royal  treasurer  Morales.  To 
gratify  the  latter,  the  admiral  had  appointed  one  of  them  captain 
of  a  caravel,  and  the  other  notary  and  accountant-general  of  the 
expedition.  They  were  vain  and  insolent  men,  and,  like  many 
others  whom  Columbus  had  benefited,  requited  his  kindness  with 
the  blackest  ingratitude.  Mingling  with  the  people,  they  assured 
them  that  Columbus  had  no  intention  of  returning  to  Spain, 
having  in  reality  been  banished  thence  by  the  sovereigns.  His- 
paniola,  they  said,  was  equally  closed  against  him,  and  it  was  his 


(373' 


374  THE    LIFE    AND   VOYAGES 

design  to  remain  in  Jamaica,  until  his  friends  could  make  interest 
at  court  to  procure  his  recall.  As  to  Mendez  and  Fiesco,  they  had 
been  sent  to  Spain  by  Columbus  on  his  own  private  concerns ;  if 
this  were  not  the  case,  why  did  not  the  promised  ship  arrive  ?  or 
why  did  not  Fiesco  return  ?  Or,  if  the  canoes  had  really  been  sent 
for  succor,  the  long  time  that  had  elapsed,  without  tidings,  gave 
reason  to  believe  that  they  had  perished  by  the  way.  In  such  case, 
their  only  alternative  would  be  to  take  Indian  canoes,  and  endeavor 
to  reach  Hispaniola:  but  there  was  no  hope  of  persuading  the 
admiral  to  do  this;  he  was  too  old,  and  too  infirm,  to  undertake 
such  a  voyage. 

By  these  insidious  suggestions,  they  gradually  prepared  the 
people  for  revolt,  assuring  them  of  the  protection  of  their  own 
relatives  in  Spain,  and  of  the  countenance  of  Ovando  and  Fonseca, 
if  not  of  the  favor  of  the  sovereigns  themselves,  who  had  shown 
their  ill-will  towards  Columbus  by  stripping  him  of  part  of  his 
dignities  and  privileges. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1504,  the  mutiny  broke  out.  Fran- 
cisco Porras  stiddenly  entered  the  cabin  where  Columbus  was  con- 
fined to  his  bed  by  the  gout,  reproached  him  vehemently  for  keep- 
ing them  in  that  desolate  place  to  perish,  and  accused  him  of  having 
no  intention  to  return  to  Spain.  The  admiral  raised  himself  in 
bed,  and,  maintaining  his  calmness,  endeavored  to  reason  with  the 
traitor;  but  Porras  was  deaf  to  all  argument.  "Embark  imme- 
diately, or  remain,  in  God's  name!"  cried  he,  with  a  voice  that  re- 
sounded all  over  the  wreck.  "  For  my  part,  I  am  for  Castile !  those 
who  choose,  may  follow  me  !  " 

This  was  the  signal.  "For  Castile!  for  Castile!"  was  heard 
on  everv  side.  The  mutineers  sprang  upon  the  most  conspicuous 
parts  of  the  vessel,  brandishing  their  weapons,  and,  amidst  the 
uproar,  the  voices  of  some  desperadoes  were  heard  menacing  the 
life  of  the  admiral. 

Columbus,  ill  and  infirm  as  he  was,  leaped  out  of  bed,  and 
tottered  forth  to  pacify  the  mutineers,  but  was  forced  back  into  his 
cabin  by  some  of  his  faithful  adherents.  The  adelantado  sallied 
forth,  sword  in  hand,  and  planted  himself  in  a  situation  to  take  the 
whole  brunt  of  the  assault.  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
several  of  the  loyal  part  of  the  crew  could  restrain  his  fury,  and 
prevail  upon  him  to  relinquish  his  we-apon,  and  retire  to  the  cabin 
of  his  brother. 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


375 


The  mutineers,  being  entirely  unopposed,  took  ten  canoes, 
which  the  admiral  had  purchased  from  the  Indians ;  others,  who 
had  not  been  concerned  in  the  mutiny,  joined  them,  through  fear 
of  remaining  behind,  when  so  reduced  in  number;  in  this  way, 
forty  -  eight  abandoned  the 
admiral.  Many  of  the  sick 
crawled  forth  from  their 
cabins,  and  beheld  their  de- 
parture with  tears  and  la- 
mentations, and  would  gladly 
have  accompanied  them,  had 
their  strength  permitted. 

P  o  r  ra  s  coasted  with  his 
squadron  of  canoes  to  the 
eastward,  landing  occasional- 
ly and  robbing  the  natives, 
pretending  to  act  under  the 
authority  of  Columbus,  that 
he  might  draw  on  him  their 
hostility.  Arrived  at  the  east 
end  of  the  island,  he  pro- 
cured several  Indians  to  man- 
age the  canoes,  and  then  set 
out  on  his  voyage  across  the 
gulf.  The  Spaniards  had 
scarcely  proceeded  four 
leagues,  when  the  wind  came 
ahead,  with  a  swell  of  the  sea 
that  threatened  to  overwhelm 
the  deeply  laden  canoes. 
They  immediately  turned  for 
land,  and,  in  their  alarm, 
threw  overboard  the  greater 
part    of    their    effects.     The 


THE  ADELANTADO,  SWORD  IN  HAND,   BRAVES  THE  FURY  OF  THE  MUTINEERS.     'SEE  PAGE  252.) 


danger  still  continuing,  they 
drew  their  swords,  and  compelled  most  of  the  Indians  to  leap  into 
the  sea.  The  latter  were  skillful  swimmers,  but  the  distance  to 
land  was  too  great  for  their  strength  ;  if,  however,  they  at  any  time 
took  hold  of  the  canoes  to  rest   themselves  and  recover  breath,  the 


376  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

Spaniards,  fearful  of  their  overturning  the  slight  barks,  would  stab 
them,  or  cut  off  their  hands.  Some  were  thus  slain  by  the  sword, 
others  sunk  exhausted  beneath  the  waves  ;  eighteen  perished  mis- 
erably ;  and  none  survived  but  a  few  who  had  been  retained  to  man- 
age the  canoes. 

Having  reached  the  shore  in  safety,  Porras  and  his  men  waited 
until  the  weather  became  favorable,  and  then  made  another  effort  to 
cross  to  Hispaniola,  but  with  no  better  success.  They  then  aban- 
doned the  attempt  in  despair,  and  returned  westward,  towards  the 
harbor,  roving  from  village  to  village,  living  upon  the  provisions 
of  the  Indians,  which  they  took  by  force  if  not  readily  given,  and 
conducting  themselves  in  the  most  licentious  manner.  If  the  na- 
tives remonstrated,  they  told  them  to  seek  redress  at  the  hands  of 
the  admiral,  whom,  at  the  same  time,  they  represented  as  the  im- 
placable foe  of  the  Indian  race,  and  bent  upon  gaining  a  tyrannical 
sway  over  their  island. 

In  the  mean  time,  Columbus,  when  abandoned  by  the  mutineers, 
and  left  in  the  wreck  with  a  mere  handful  of  sick  and  desponding 
men,  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  restore  this  remnant  to  an 
efficient  state  of  health  and  spirits.  He  ordered  that  the  small 
stock  of  biscuit  which  remained,  and  the  most  nourishing  articles 
of  the  provisions  furnished  by  the  Indians,  should  be  appropriated 
to  the  invalids  :  he  visited  them  individually,  cheered  them  with 
hopes  of  speedy  deliverance,  and  promised  that  on  his  return  to 
Spain  he  would  intercede  with  the  sovereigns,  that  their  loyalty 
might  be  munificently  rewarded.  In  this  way,  by  kind  and  careful 
treatment,  and  encouraging  words,  he  succeeded  in  restoring  them 
from  a  state  of  sickness  and  despondency,  and  rendering  them  once 
more  fit  for  service. 

Scarcely,  however,  had  the  little  garrison  of  the  wreck  recov- 
ered from  the  shock  of  the  mutiny,  when  it  was  menaced  by  a  new 
and  appalling  evil.  The  scanty  number  of  the  Spaniards  prevented 
them  from  foraging  abroad  for  provisions,  and  rendered  them  de- 
pendent on  the  voluntary  supplies  of  the  natives.  The  latter  began 
to  grow  negligent.  The  European  trinkets,  once  so  inestimable  in 
their  eyes,  had  sunk  in  value  by  becoming  common,  and  were  now 
almost  treated  with  indifference.  The  arrangements  made  by  Diego 
Mendez  were  irregularly  attended  to,  and  at  length  entirely  disre- 
garded.    Many  of  the  caciques  had  been  incensed  by  the  conduct 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


377 


of  Porras  and  his  followers,  which  they  supposed  justified  by  the 
admiral ;  others  had  been  secretly  instigated  by  the  rebels  to  with- 
hold provisions,  in  hopes  of  starving  Columbus  and  his  people,  or 
of  driving  them  from  the  island.  , 

The  horrors  of  famine  began  to  threaten  the  terrified  crew, 
when  a  fortunate  idea  presented  itself  to  Columbus.  From  his 
knowledge  of  astronomy,  he  ascertained  that  within  three  days 
there  would  be  a  total  eclipse  of  the  moon,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
night.  He  summoned,  therefore,  the  principal  caciques  to  a  grand 
conferen.ee,  appointing  for  it  the  day  of  the  eclipse.  When  all  were 
assembled,  he  told  them  by  his  interpreter,  that  he  and  his  follow- 
ers were  worshippers  of  a  Deity,  who  lived  in  the  skies,  and  held 
them  under  his  protection ;  that  this  great  Deity  was  incensed 
against  the  Indians,  who  had  refused  or  neglected  to  furnish  his 
faithful  worshippers  with  provisions,  and  intended  to  chastise  them 
with  famine  and  pestilence.  Lest  they  should  disbelieve  this  warn- 
ing, a  signal  would  be  given  that  very  night  in  the  heavens.  They 
would  behold  the  moon  change  its  color,  and  gradually  lose  its  light ; 
a  token  of  the  fearful  punishment  which  awaited  them. 


COLUMBUS    AND    THE    ECLIPSE. 


3/8 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


Many  of  the  Indians  were  alarmed  at  the  solemnity  of  this  pre- 
diction, others  treated  it  with  derision  ;  all,  however,  awaited  with 
solicitude  the  coming  of  the  night.  When  they  beheld  a  black 
shadow  stealing  over  the  moon,  and  a  mysterious  gloom  gradually 
covering  the  whole  face  of  nature,  they  were  seized  with  the  utmost 
consternation.  Hurrying  with  provisions  to  the  ships,  and  throwing 
themselves  at  the  feet  of  Columbus,  they  implored  him  to  intercede 
with  his  God  to  withhold  the  threatened  calamities,  assuring  him 
that  thenceforth  they  would  bring  him  whatever  he  required.  Co- 
lumbus retired  to  his  cabin,  under  pretense  of  communing  with  the 
Deity,  the  forests  and  shores  all  the  while  resounding  with  the 
howlings  of  the  savages.  He  returned  shortly,  and  informed  the 
natives  that  the  Deity  had  deigned  to  pardon  them,  on  condition 
of  their  fulfilling  their  promises,  in  sign  of  which  he  would  with- 
draw the  darkness  from  the  moon.  When  the  Indians  saw  that 
planet  restored  presently  to  its  brightness,  and  rolling  in  all  its 
beauty  through  the  firmament,  they  overwhelmed  the  admiral  with 
thanks  for  his  intercession.  They  now  regarded  him  with  awe  and 
reverence,  as  one  enjoying  the  peculiar  favor  and  confidence  of  the 
Deity,  since  he  knew  upon  earth  what  was  passing  in  the  heavens. 
They  hastened  to  propitiate  him  with  gifts  ;  supplies  again  arrived 
daily  at  the  harbor,  and  from  that  time  forward  there  was  no  want 
of  provisions. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 


ARRIVAL  OF  DIEGO  DE  ESCOBAR  AT  THE  HARBOR.   BATTLE  WITH  THE  REBELS.   1504.' 


IGHT  months  had  now  elapsed,  since  the  de- 
parture of  Mendez  and  Fiesco,  yet  no 
tidings  had  been  received  of  their  fate. 
The  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine  were  nearly 
extinct,  and  many,  considering  themselves  aban- 
doned and  forgotten  by  the  world,  grew  wild 
and  desperate  in  their  plans.  Another  con- 
spiracy, similar  to  that  of  Porras,  was  on  the 
point  of  breaking  out,  when  one  evening,  towards 
dusk,  a  sail  was  seen  standing  towards  the  harbor.  It  was  a  small 
caravel,  which  kept  out  at  sea,  and  sent  its  boat  on  shore.  In  this 
came  Diego  de  Escobar,  one  of  the  late  confederates  of  Roldan,  who 
had  been  condemned  to  death  under  the  administration  of  Colum- 
bus, and  pardoned  by  his  successor,  Bobadilla.  There  was  bad  omen 
in  such  a  messenger. 

Escobar  was  the  bearer  of  a  mere  letter  of  compliment  and 
condolence  from  Ovando,  accompanied  by  a  barrel  of  wine  and  a 
side  of  bacon.  The  governor  expressed  great  concern  at  his  mis- 
fortunes and  regret  at  not  having  in  port  a  vessel  of  sufficient  size 
to  bring  off  himself  and  people,  but  promised  to  send  one  as  soon 
as  possible.  Escobar  drew  off  with  the  boat,  and  kept  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  wreck,  awaiting  any  letters  the  admiral  might  have 
to  send  in  reply,  and  holding  no  conversation  with  any  of  the 
Spaniards.  Columbus  hastened  to  write  to  Ovando,  depicting  the 
horrors  of  his  situation,  and  urging  the  promised  relief.  As  soon 
as  Escobar  received  this  letter,  he  returned  on  board  of  his  caravel, 


(379) 


380  THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

which  made  all  sail,  and  disappeared  in  the  gathering  glooni  of  the 
night. 

The  mysterious  conduct  of  Escobar  caused  great  wonder  and 
consternation  among  the  people.  Columbus  sought  to  dispel  their 
uneasiness,  assuring  them  that  vessels  would  soon  arrive  to  take 
them  away.  In  confidence  of  this,  he  said,  he  had  declined  to  de- 
part with  Escobar,  because  his  vessel  was  too  small  to  take  the 
whole,  and  had  despatched  him  in  such  haste,  that  no  time  might 
be  lost  in  sending  the  requisite  ships.  These  assurances,  and  the 
certainty  that  their  situation  was  known  in  San  Domingo,  cheered 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  put  an  end  to  the  conspiracy. 

Columbus,  however,  was  secretly  indignant  at  the  conduct  of 
Ovando,  believing  that  he  had  purposely  delayed  sending  relief,  in 
the  hopes  that  he  would  perish  on  the  island,  being  apprehensive 
that,  should  he  return  in  safety,  he  would  be  reinstated  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  Hispanolia.  He  considered  Escobar  merely  as  a  spy, 
sent  by  the  governor  to  ascertain  whether  he  and  his  crew  were  yet 
in  existence.  Still  he  endeavored  to  turn  the  event  to  some  ad- 
vantage with  the  rebels.  He  sent  two  of  his  people  to  inform 
them  of  the  promise  of  Ovando  to  send  ships  for  his  relief,  and  he 
offered  them  a  free  pardon,  and  a  passage  to  Hispaniola,  on  condi- 
tion of  their  immediate  return  to  obedience. 

On  the  approach  of  the  ambassadors,  Porras  came  forth  to  meet 
them,  accompanied  solely  by  a  few  of  the  ringleaders  of  his  party, 
and  prevented  their  holding  any  communication  with  the  mass  of 
his  people.  In  reply  to  the  generous  offer  of  the  admiral,  they  re- 
fused to  return  to  the  wreck,  but  agreed  to  conduct  themselves 
peaceably  and  amicably,  on  receiving  a  solemn  promise  that,  should 
two  vessels  arrive,  they  should  have  one  to  depart  in  ;  should  but 
one  arrive,  the  half  of  it  shoiild  be  granted  to  them;  and  that,  in  the 
mean  time,  the  admiral  should  share  with  them  the  sea  stores  and 
articles  of  Indian  traffic  which  remained  in  his  possession.  When 
it  was  observed  that  these  demands  were  extravagant  and  inad- 
missible, they  replied,  that  if  they  were  not  peaceably  conceded, 
they  would  take  them  by  force ;  and  with  this  menace  they  dis- 
missed the  ambassadors. 

The  conference  was  not  conducted  so  privately  but  that  the 
rest  of  the  rebels  learnt  the  whole  purport  of  the  mission.  Porras 
seeing  them  moved  by  the  offer  of  pardon  and  deliverance,  resorted 


OF    COLUMBTS. 


3SI 


to  the  most  desperate  falsehoods  to  delude  them.  He  told  them 
that  these  offers  of  the  admiral  were  all  deceitful,  and  that  he  ouly 
sought  to  get  them  into  his  power,  that 
he  might  wreak  on  them  his  vengeance. 
As  to  the  pretended  caravel  which  had 
visited  the  harbor,  he  assured  them 
that  it  was  a  mere  phantasm,  conjured 
up  by  the  admiral,  who  was  deeply 
versed  in  magic.  In  proof  of  this,  he 
adverted  to  its  arriving  in  the  dusk  of 
the  evening,  its  holding  communica- 
tion with  no  one  but  the  admiral,  and 
its  sudden  disappearance  in  the  night. 
Had  it  been  a  real  caravel,  the  crew  would 


PORRAS    LEADING    THE    REBELS    TOWARDS    THE    HARBOR. 


have  sought  to  converse  with  their  coun- 
trymen ;  the  admiral,  his  son,  and  brother,  would  have  eagerly  em- 
barked on  board;  at  any  rate,  it  would  have  remained  a  little  while 
in  port,  and  not  have  vanished  so  suddenly  and  mysteriously. 

By  these  and  similar  delusions  Porras  succeeded  in  working  up- 
on the  feelings  and  credulity  of  his  followers;  and  persuaded  them 
that,  if  they  persisted  in  their  rebellion,  they  would  ultimately 
triumph,  and  perhaps  send  home  the  admiral  in  irons,  as  had  once 
before  been  done  from  Hispaniola.  To  involve  them  beyond  hope 
of  pardon,  he  marched  them  one  day  towards  the  harbor,  with  an  in- 
tention of  seizing  upon  the  stores  remaining  in  the  wreck,  and 
getting  the  admiral  in  his  power. 

Columbus  heard  of  their  approach  but  being  confined  by  his 
infirmities,  sent  Don  Bartholomew  to  reason  with  them  and  endeavor 
to  win  them  to  obedience.  The  adelantado,  who  was  generally  a 
man  rather  of  deeds  than  words,  took  with  him  fifty  men  well 
armed.  Arriving  near  the  rebels,  he  sent  messengers  to  treat 
with  them ;  but  Porras  forbade  them  to  approach.  The  latter 
cheered  his  followers  by  pointing,  with  derision,  to  the  pale  coun- 
tenances of  their  opponents,  who  were  emaciated  by  recent  sick- 
ness and  long  confinement  in  the  wreck ;  whereas  his  men,  for  the 
most  part,  were  hardy  sailors,  rendered  robust  by  living  in  the 
open  air.  He  assured  them  that  the  followers  of  the  adelantado 
were  mere  household  men,*  fair-weather  troops,  who  could  never 

*  Men  unfit  to  work  outside. 


332 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


stand  before  them.  He  did  not  reflect  that  with  such  men,  pride 
and  spirit  often  more  than  supply  the  place  of  bodily  force,  and 
that  his  adversaries  had  the  incalculable  advantage  of  justice  and 
law  upon  their  side. 

Deluded  by  his  words  into  a  transient  glow  of  courage,  the 
rebels  did  not  wait  to  be  attacked,  but  rushed  with  shouts  upon 
the  enemy.  Six  of  them  had  made  a  league  to  assault  the  ade- 
lantado,  but  were  so  well  received  that  he  laid  several  of  them  dead 
at  his  feet,  among  whom  was  Juan  Sanchez,  the  same  powerful 
mariner  who  had  carried  off  the  cacique  Ouibian.  In  the  midst 
of  the  affray  the  adelantado  was  assailed  by  Francisco  de  Porras, 
who,  with  a  blow  of  his  sword,  cleft  his  buckler,  and  wounded  the 
hand  which  grasped  it.  The  sword  remained  wedged  in  the  shield, 
and  before  it  could  be  withdrawn,  the  adelantado  closed  upon 
Porras,  grappled  him,  and,  being  assisted  by  others,  succeeded  in 
taking  him  prisoner. 

The  rebels,  seeing  their  leader  a  captive,  fled  in  confusion, 
but  were  not  pursued,  through  fear  of  an  attack  from  the  Indians, 
who  had  remained  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  gazing  with  astonish- 
ment at  this  fight  between  white  men,  but  without  offering  to  aid 

either  party.  The  adelantado  returned  in 
triumph  to  the  wreck,  with  Porras  and 
several  other  prisoners.  Only  two  of  his 
own  men  had  been  wounded,  one  of  whom 
died.  On  the  following  day,  the  rebels 
sent  a  letter  to  the  admiral,  signed  with 
all  their  names,  confessing  their  misdeeds, 
imploring  pardon,  and  making  a  solemn 
oath  of  obedience ;  imprecating  the  most 
awful  curses  on  their  heads  should  they 
break  it.  The  admiral  saw,  by  the  ab- 
ject nature  of  the  letter,  how  completely 
the  spirit  of  these  misguided  men 
was  broken ;  with  his  wonted 
magnanimity  he  pardoned 
their  offenses,  merely  retaining  their  ring- 
leader, Francisco  Porras,  a  prisoner,  to  be 
tried  in  Spain  for  his  misdeeds. 


^■"wrvaV^RWt^kT  \i*l 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 


VOYAGE   OF   DIEGO   MEIMOEZ  TO   HISPANIOLA.      DELIVERANCE  OF   COLUMBUS    FROM   THE    ISLAND 

OF  JAMAICA.      (1504.) 


T  is  proper  here  to  give  some  account 

of  the  mission  of  Diego  Mendez  and 

Bartholomew  Fiesco.     When  they  had 

taken  leave  of  the  adelantado  at  the 

yft  ^^fw^ ' jft  "$>£J-P^       5   east  end  of  the  island  of  Jamaica,  they 

continued  all  day  in  a  direct  course ; 
there  was  no  wind,  the  sky  was  with- 
out a  cloud,  and  the  sea  like  a  mir- 
ror reflected  the  burning  rays  of  the 
$         !^VA    /fV«    l     sun.      The   Indians  who   paddled   the 

canoes  would  often  leap  into  the  water, 
to  cool  their  glowing  bodies,  and  refresh 
'f  themselves  from  their  toil.  At  the  going 
down  of  the  sun  they  lost  sight  of  land. 
During  the  night  the  Indians  took  turns, 
one  half  to  row  while  the  others  slept.  The 
Spaniards,  in  like  manner,  divided  their  for.ces  ;  while  some  took 
repose,  the  others  sat  with  their  weapons  in  their  hands,  read}-  to 
defend  themselves  in  case  of  any  perfidy  on  the  part  of  their  sav- 
age companions. 

Watching  and  toiling  in  this  way  through  the  night,  they  were 
excessively  fatigued  on  the  following  day  ;  and,  to  add  to  their  dis- 
tress, they  began  to  experience  the  torments  of  thirst,  for  the  Indi- 
ans, parched  with  heat,  had  already  drained  the  contents  of  their 
calabashes.  In  proportion  as  the  sun  rose,  their  misery  increased, 
and  was  irritated  by  the  prospect  around  them — nothing  but  water, 


(383) 


3S4  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

while  they  were  perishing  with  thirst.  About  mid-day,  when  their 
strength  was  failing  them,  the  commanders  produced  two  small 
kegs  of  water,  which  they  had  probably  reserved  in  secret  for  such 
an  extremity.  Administering  a  cooling  mouthful  occasionally,  they 
enabled  the  Indians  to  resume  their  toils.  They  held  out  the  hopes 
of  soon  arriving  at  a  small  island,  called  Navasa,  which  lay  directly 
in  their  way,  about  eight  leagues  distant  from  Hispaniola.  Here 
they  would  find  water  to  assuage  their  thirst,  and  would  be  able  to 
take  repose. 

The  night  closed  upon  them  without  any  sight  of  the  island ; 
they  feared  that  they  had  deviated  from  their  course  ;  if  so,  they 
should  miss  the  island  entirely,  and  perish  with  thirst  before  they 
could  reach  Hispaniola.  One  of  the  Indians  died  of  the  accumu- 
lated sufferings  of  labor,  heat,  and  raging  thirst ;  others  lay  panting 
and  gasping  at  the  bottom  of  the  canoes.  Their  companions  were 
scarcely  able  to  continue  their  toils.  Sometimes  the}-  endeavored 
to  cool  their  parched  palates  by  taking  sea  water  in  their  mouths, 
but  its  briny  bitterness  only  increased  their  thirst.  One  after  an- 
other gave  up,  and  it  seemed  impossible  that  they  should  live  to 
reach  Hispaniola. 

The  commanders,  by  admirable  management,  had  hitherto  kept 
up  this  weary  struggle  with  suffering  aud  despair;  but  they  too  be- 
gan to  despond.  Diego  Mendez  sat  watching  the  horizon,  which 
was  gradually  lighting  up  with  those  faint  rays  which  precede  the 
rising  of  the  moon.  As  that  planet  arose,  he  perceived  it  to  emerge 
from  behind  a  dark  mass  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  It 
proved  to  be  the  island  of  Navasa,  but  so  low,  and  small,  and  dis- 
tant, that,  had  it  not  been  thus  revealed  by  the  rising  moon,  he 
would  never  have  discovered  it.  He  immediately  gave  the  animat- 
ing cry  of  "  land."  His  almost  expiring  companions  were  roused 
to  new  life,  and  exerted  themselves  with  feverish  impatience.  By 
the  dawn  of  day  they  sprang  on  shore,  and  returned  thanks  to  God 
for  their  deliverance.  The  island  was  a  mere  barren  mass  of  rocks, 
but  they  found  abundance  of  rain-water  in  hollow  places.  The  Span- 
iards exercised  some  degree  of  caution  in  their  draughts ;  but  the 
poor  Indians,  whose  toils  had  increased  the  fever  of  their  thirst,  gave 
way  to  a  kind  of  frantic  indulgence,  of  which  several  died  upon  the 
spot,  and  others  fell  dangerously  ill. 

After  reposing  all  day  on  the  island,  where  they  made  a  grate- 


OF    COLUMBUS.  387 

ful  repast  upon  shell-fish  gathered  along  the  shore,  but  they  set  off 
in  the  evening  for  Hispaniola,  the  mountains  of  which  were  dis- 
tinctly visible,  and  arrived  at  Cape  Tiburon  on  the  following  day, 
the  fourth  since  their  departure  from  Jamaica.  Fiesco  would  now 
have  returned  to  give  the  admiral  assurance  of  the  safe  arrival  of 
his  messenger,  but  both  Spaniards  and  Indians  refused  to  en- 
counter the  perils  of  another  voyage  in  the  canoes. 

Parting  with  his  companions,  Diego  Mendez  took  six  Indians 
of  the  island,  and  set  off  for  San  Domingo.  After  proceeding  for 
eighty  leagues  against  the  currents,  he  was  informed  that  the  gov- 
ernor had  departed  for  Xaragua,  fifty  leagues  distant.  Still  un- 
daunted by  fatigues  and  difficulties,  he  abandoned  the  canoe,  and 
proceeded  alone,  on  foot,  through  forests  and  over  mountains,  until 
he  arrived  at  Xaragua,  achieving  one  of  the  most  perilous  expedi- 
tions ever  undertaken  by  a  devoted  follower  for  the  safety  of  his 
commander. 

He  found  Ovando  completely  engrossed  by  wars  with  the 
natives.  The  governor  expressed  great  concern  at  the  unfortunate 
situation  of  Columbus,  and  promised  to  send  him  immediate  relief; 
but  Mendez  remained  for  seven  months  at  Xaragua,  vainly  urging 
for  that  relief,  or  for  permission  to  go  to  San  Domingo  in  quest  of 
it.  The  constant  excuse  of  Ovando  was,  that  there  were  not  ships 
of  sufficient  burden  in  the  island  to  bring  off  Columbus  and  his 
men.  At  length,  by  daily  importunity,  Mendez  obtained  permis- 
sion to  go  to  San  Domingo,  and  await  the  arrival  of  certain  ships 
which  were  expected.  He  immediately  set  out  on  foot ;  the  distance 
was  seventy  leagues,  and  part  of  his  toilsome  journey  lay  through 
forests  and  mountains,  infested  by  hostile  and  exasperated  Indians. 
Immediately  after  his  departure,  Ovando  despatched  from  Xaragua 
the  pardoned  rebel,  Escobar,  on  that  reconnoitering  visit,  which 
caused  so  much  wonder  and  suspicion 
among  the  companions  of  Columbus. 

If  the  governor  had  really  entertained 
hopes  that,  during  the  delay  of  relief, 
Columbus  might  perish  in  the  island,  the 
report  brought  back  by  Escobar  must  have 
completely  disappointed  him.  No  time  was 
now  to  be  lost,  if  he  wished  to  claim  any 
merit  in  his  deliverance,  or  to   avoid  the 


DIEGO    MENDEZ    IMPORTUNES   OVANOO  TO   SEND   SUCCOR   TO    THE 
SHIPWRECKED   COLUMBUS. 


3§8  THE    LIFE    AND   VOYAGES  ' 

disgrace  of  having  totally  neglected  him.  His  long  delay  had  al- 
ready roused  the  public  indignation,  insomuch  that  animadversions 
had  been  made  upon  his  conduct  even  in  the  pulpits.  Diego 
Mendez,  also,  had  hired  and  victualled  a  vessel  at  the  expense  of 
Columbus,  and  was  on  the  point  of  despatching  it.  The  governor, 
therefore,  exerted  himself,  at  the  eleventh  hour,  and  fitted  out  a 
caravel,  which  he  put  under  the  command  of  Diego  de  Salcedo, 
the  agent  employed  by  Columbus  to  collect  his  rents  in  San  Do- 
mingo. It  was  these  two  vessels  which  arrived  at  Jamaica  shortly 
after  the  battle  with  Porras,  and  brought  relief  to  the  admiral  and 
his  faithful  adherents,  after  a  long  year  of  dismal  confinement  to 
the  wreck.* 

On  the  28th  of  June,  all  the  Spaniards  embarked,  friend  and 
foe,  on  board  of  the  vessels,  and  made  sail  joyfully  for  San  Domingo ; 
but,  from  adverse  winds  and  currents,  they  did  not  arrive  there 
until  the  13th  of  August.  Whatever  lurking  enmity  there  might 
be  to  Columbus  in  the  place,  it  was  overpowered  by  popular  sym- 
pathy for  his  late  disasters.  Whatever  had  been  denied  to  his  mer- 
its was  granted  to  his  misfortunes;  and  even  the  envious,  appeased 
by  his  present  reverses,  seemed  to  forgive  him  for  having  once  been 
so  triumphant. 

The  governor  and  the  principal  inhabitants  came  forth  to  meet 
him,  and  received  him  with  signal  distinction.  He  was  lodged  in 
the  house  of  Ovando,  who  treated  him  with  the  utmost  courtesy 
and  attention  ;  but  there  were  too  deep  causes  of  jealousy  and  dis- 
trust between  them,  for  their  intercourse  to  be  cordial.  Their  pow- 
ers, too,  were  so  defined  in  their  several  patents,  as  to  clash  with 

*  Some  brief  notice  of  the  further  fortunes  of  Diego  Mendez  may  be  interesting  to  the 
reader. 

When  King  Ferdinand  heard  of  his  faithful  services,  he  bestowed  rewards  upon  him, 
and  permitted  him  to  bear  a  canoe  in  his  coat  of  arms,  as  a  memento  of  his  hardy  enter- 
prise. He  continued  devotedly  attached  to  the  admiral,  serving  him  zealously  after  his  return 
to  Spain,  and  during  his  last  illness.  Columbus  retained  a  grateful  and  affectionate  sense  of 
his  fidelity.  On  his  death-bed,  he  promised  Mendez  that  he  should  be  appointed  principal  al- 
guazil  of  the  island  of  .Hispaniola.  The  promise,  however,  was  not  performed  by  the  heirs 
of  Columbus.  Mendez  was  afterwards  engaged  in  various  voyages  of  discovery,  met  with 
many  vicissitudes  and  died  poor.  In  his  last  will,  he  requested  that  his  armorial  bearing  of 
an  Indian  canoe  should  be  engraved  on  his  tombstone,  and  under  it  the  following  words : 
"  Here  lies  the  honorable  Cavalier,  Diego  Mendez;  who  served  greatly  the  royal  crown  of  Spain, 
in  the  conquest  of  the  Indies,  with  Admiral  Christopher  Columbus,  of  glorious  memory,  who 
made  the  discovery  ;  and  afterwards  by  himself,  in  ships  at  his  own  cost.  Bestow,  in  charity, 
a  Paternoster  and  an  Ave  Maria." 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


389 


each  other,  and  to  cause  questions  of  jurisdiction.  Ovando  assumed 
a  right  to  take  cognizance  of  all  transactions  at  Jamaica,  as  hap- 
pening within  the  limits  of  his  government.  He  set  at  liberty  the 
traitor  Porras,  and  talked  of  punishing  the  followers  of  Columbus 
for  the  deaths  of  the  mutineers  whom  they  had  slain  in  battle. 
Columbus,  on  the  other  hand,  asserted  the  absolute  jurisdiction 
given  him  by  the  sovereigns,  in  his  letter  of  instructions,  over  all 
persons  who  had  sailed  in  his  expedition,  from  the  time  of  their 
departure  from  Spain  until  their  return.  The  governor  heard  him  ■ 
with  great  courtesy  and  a  smiling  countenance,  but  observed,  that 
the  letter  gave  him  no  authority  within  the  bounds  of  his  govern- 
ment. He  relinquished  the  idea,  however,  of  trying  the  faithful 
adherents  of  Columbus,  and  sent  Porras  to  Spain,  to  be  examined 
by  the  board  which  had  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  Indies. 


INDIANS  MAKING  BIRCH   BARK  CANOES. 


22 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 


AFFAIRS   AT    HISPANIOLA,  DURING  THE   ADMINISTRATION   OF   OVANDO.     RETURN    OF  COLUMBUS 

TO  SPAIN.     (1504.) 


HE  sojourn  of  Columbus  at  San  Domingo  was 
but  little  calculated  to  yield  him  satisfaction. 
He  was  grieved  at  the  desolation  of  the  island, 
through  the  oppressive  treatment  of  the  na- 
tives, and  the  horrible  massacres  which  had 
taken  place  under  the  administration  of  Ovan- 
do ;  and  here  let  lis  turn  for  a  moment  from 
pursuing  the  story  of  the  admiral,  to  notice 
some  of  the  principal  occurrences  which  had 
taken  place  in  Hispaniola  during  his  absence. 
A  great  crowd  of  adventurers,  of  various  ranks,  had  thronged 
the  fleet  of  Ovando,  all  confidently  expecting  to  make  sudden  fort- 
unes. They  had  scarcely  landed  when  they  all  hurried  off  to  the 
mines,  which  were  about  eight  leagues  distant.  The  road  swarmed 
like  an  ant-hill.  Every  one  had  his  knapsack  of  biscuit  and  flour, 
and  his  mining  implements  on  his  shoulder.  Those  hidalgos,  or 
gentlemen,  who  had  no  servants  to  earn-  their  burdens,  were  fain 
to  bear  them  on  their  own  backs,  and  lucky  was  he  who  had  a  horse 
for  the  expedition,  for  he  would  be  able  to  bring  back  the  greater 
load  of  treasure.  They  all  set  off  in  high  spirits,  eager  who  should 
first  reach  the  golden  land  ;  thinking  they  had  but  to  arrive  at  the 
mines,  and  gather  gold,  as  easily  and  readily  as  fruit  from  the  trees. 
When  they  arrived,  however,  the}'  found,  to  their  dismay,  that  it 
required  experience  to  discover  the  veins  of  ore ;  that  the  whole 
process  of  mining  was  exceedingly  slow  and  toilsome,  and  its  re- 
sults precarious. 


(39°: 


OF   COLUMBUS.  391 

They  digged  eagerly  for  a  time,  but  found  no  ore ;  growing 
hungry,  they  threw  by  their  implements,  sat  down  to  eat,  and  then 
returned  to  work.  It  was  all  in  vain.  "Their  labor,"  says  Las 
Casas,  "  gave  them  a  keen  appetite  and  quick  digestion,  but  no 
gold."  They  soon  exhausted  their  provisions  and  their  patience, 
and  returned  murmuring  along  the  road  they  had  lately  trod  so 
exultingly.  They  arrived  at  San  Domingo  half  famished,  down- 
cast, and  despairing.  Such  is  too  often  the  case  of  those  who  igno- 
rautly  engage  in  mining ;  which,  of  all  objects  of  speculation,  is 
the  most  brilliant,  promising,  and  fallacious.  Poverty  soon  fell 
upon  these  misguided  men.  Some  wasted  away  and  died  broken- 
hearted ;  others  were  hurried  off  by  raging  fevers ;  so  that  there 
soon  perished  upwards  of  a  thousand  men. 

Ovando  was  reputed  a  man  of  great  prudence  and  sagacity, 
and  he  certainly  took  several  judicious  measures  for  the  regulation 
of  the  island  and  the  relief  of  the  colonists ;  but  his  policy  was 
fatal  to  the  natives.  When  he  had  been  sent  out  to  supersede  Bo- 
badilla,  the  queen,  shocked  at  the  cruel  bondage  which  had  been 
inflicted  on  the  Indians,  had  pronounced  them  all  free.  The  con- 
sequence was,  they  immediately  refused  to  labor  in  the  mines. 

Ovando,  in  1503,  represented  that  this  entire  liberty  granted 
to  the  natives  was  not  merely  ruinous  to  the  colony,  but  detri- 
mental to  themselves,  as  it  produced  habits  of  idleness,  profligacy, 
and  neglect  of  all  religion.  The  sovereigns  permitted,  therefore, 
that  they  should  be  obliged  to  labor  moderately,  if  essential  to 
their  well-being,  but  that  they  should  be  paid  regularly  and  fairly, 
and  instructed  in  religion  on  certain  days,  and  that  all  compulsory 
measures  should  be  tempered  with  persuasion  and  kindness. 
Under  cover  of  this  hired  labor,  thus  intended  for  the  health  of 
soul  and  body,  more  intolerable  toil  was  exacted  from  them,  and 
more  horrible  cruelties  inflicted,  than  in  the  worst  days  of  Boba- 
dilla.  Many  perished  from  hunger,  or  sank  under  the  lash  ;  many 
killed  themselves  in  despair;  and  even  mothers  overcame  the 
powerful  instinct  of  nature,  and  destroyed  the  infants  at  their 
breasts,  to  spare  them  a  life  of  wretchedness.  Even  those  who 
survived  the  exacted  terms  of  labor,  and  were  permitted  to  return 
to  their  homes,  which  were  often  sixty  and  eighty  leagues  distant, 
were  dismissed  so  worn  down  by  toil  and  hardship,  and  so  scantily 
furnished   with  provisions,  that  they  perished   by  the  way.     Some 


392 


THE   LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


sank  down  and  died  by  the  side  of  a  brook,  others  under  the  shade 
of  a  tree,  where  they  had  crawled  for  shelter  from  the  sun.  "  I 
have  found  many  dead  on  the  road,"  says  the  venerable  Bishop  Las 
Casas;  "others  gasping  under  the  trees,  and  others  in  the  pangs 
of  death,  faintly  crying,  Hunger!  hunger!" 

The  wars  of  Ovando  were  equally  desolating.  To  punish  a 
slight  insurrection  in  the  province  of  Higuey,  at  the  eastern  end 
of  the  island,  he  sent  his  troops,  who  ravaged  the  country  with  fire 
and  sword,  showed  no  mercy  to  age  or  sex,  put  many  to  death  with 
the  most  wanton,  ingenious,  and  horrible  torture's,  and  brought  off 
the  brave  Cotabanama,  one  of  the  five  sovereign  caciques  of  the 
island,   in   chains  to   San    Domingo,  where  he  was  ignominiously 

hanged  by  Ovando  for  the 


OVANDO  SETS  OUT  FOR  XAHAGUA  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  AN  ARMY  OF  FOUR  HUNDRED  MEN. 


crime  of  defending  his 
territory  and  his  native 
soil  against  usurping 
strangers. 

But  the  most  atrocious 
act  of  Ovando,  and  one 
that  must  heap  odium  on 
his    name    wherever    the 

4 

woes  of  the  gentle  natives 
of  Hayti  create  an  in- 
terest, was  the  punish- 
ment he  inflicted  on  the 
province  of  Xaragua  for  a  pretended  conspiracy.  The  exactions 
of  tribute,  in  this  once  happy  and  hospitable  province,  had 
caused  occasional  quarrels  between  the  inferior  caciques  and  the 
Spaniards;  these  were  magnified  by  alarmists,  and  Ovando  was 
persuaded  that  there  was  a  deep-laid  plot  among  the  natives  to 
rise  upon  their  oppressors.  He  immediately  set  out  for  Xaragua, 
at  the  head  of  nearly  four  hundred  well-armed  soldiers,  seventy  of 
whom  were  steel-clad  horsemen.  He  gave  out  that  he  was  going 
on  a  visit  of  friendship,  to  make  arrangements  about  the  payment 
of  tribute. 

Behechio,  the  ancient  cacique  of  the  province,  was  dead,  and 
his  sister,  Anacaona,  had  succeeded  to  the  government.  She  came 
forth  to  meet  Ovando,  according  to  the  custom  of  her  nation,  at- 
tended by  her  most  distinguished  subjects,  and  her  train  of  dam- 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


393 


sels,  waving  palm  branches,  and  dancing  to  the  cadence  of  their 
popular  areytos.  All  her  principal  caciques  had  been  assembled 
to  do  honor  to  her  guests,  who  for  several  days  were  entertained 
with  brnquets  and  national  games  and  dances.  In  return  for  these 
exhibitions,  Ovando  invited  Anacaona,  with  her  beautiful  daughter 
Higuenamota,  and  her  principal  subjects,  to  witness  a  tilting  match 
by  the  cavalry  in  the  public  square.  When  all  were  assembled, 
the  square  crowded  with  unarmed  Indians,  Ovando  gave  a  signal, 
and  instantly  the  horsemen  rushed  into  the  midst  of  the  naked  and 
defenceless  throng,  trampling  them  under  foot,  cutting  them  down 
with  their  swords,  transfixing  them  with  their  lances,  and  sparing 
neither  age  nor  sex.  Above  eighty  caciques  had  been  assembled 
in  one  of  the  principal  houses.  It  was  surrounded  by  troops,  the 
caciques  were  bound  to  the  posts  which  supported  the  roof,  and  put 
to  cruel  tortures,  until,  in  the  extremity  of  anguish,  they  were 
made  to  admit  the  truth  of  the  plot  with  which  their  queen  and 
themselves  had  been  charged.  When  self-accusation  had  thus  been 
tortured  from  them,  a  horrible  punishment  was  immediately  in- 
flicted ;  fire  was  set  to  the  house,  and  they  all  perished  miserably 
in  the  flames. 

As  to  Anacaona,  she  was  carried  to  San  Domingo,  where  the 
mockery  of  a  trial  was  given  her,  in  which  she  was  found  guilty,  ■ 
on  the  confessions  wrung  by  torture  from  her  subjects,  and  on  the 
testimony  of  their  butchers,  aud  she  was  barbarously    hanged  by 
the  people  whom  she  had  so  long  and  so  signally  befriended. 

After  the  massacre  at  Xaragua,  the  destruc- 
tion of  its  inhabitants  still  went  on  ;  they  were 
hunted  for  six  months  amidst  the  fastnesses  of 
the  mountains,  and  their  country  ravaged  by 
horse  and  foot,  until,  all  being  reduced  to  deplor- 
able misery  and  abject  submission,  Ovando  pro- 
nounced the  province  restored  to  order,  and,  in 
commemoration  of  his  triumph,  founded  a  town 
near  the  lake,  which  he  called  Santa  Maria  de  la 
Verdadera  Paz  (St.  Mary  of  the  True  Peace). 

Such  was  the  tragical  fate  of  the  beautiful 
Anacaona,  once  extolled  as  the  Golden  Flower  of 
Hayti ;  and  such  the  story  of  the  delightful  region 
of  Xaragua ;    a  place  which    the    Europeans,  by 


ANACAONA,    THE    GOLDEN   FLOWER    OF    XARAGUA. 


394  THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 

their  own  account,  found  a  perfect  paradise,  but  which,  by  their 
vile  passions,  they  filled  with  horror  and  desolation. 

These  are  but  brief  and  scanty  anecdotes  of  the  ruthless  sys- 
tem which  had  been  pursued,  during  the  absence  of  the  admiral, 
by  the  commander  Ovando,  this  man  of  boasted  prudence  and  mod- 
eration, who  had  been  sent  to  reform  the  abuses  of  the  island,  and 
above  all,  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  natives.  The  sj-stem  of 
Columbus  may  have  borne  hard  upon  the  Indians,  born  and  brought 
up  as  they  were  in  untasked  freedom,  but  it  was  never  cruel  or 
sanguinarj-.  He  had  fondly  hoped,  at  one  time,  to  render  them 
civilized,  industrious,  and  tributary  subjects  to  the  crown,  zealous 
converts  to  the  faith,  and  to  derive  from  their  regular  tributes  a 
great  and  steady  revenue.  How  different  had  been  the  event !  The 
five  great  tribes  which  had  peopled  the  mountains  and  the  valleys, 
at  the  time  of  the  discover}*,  and  had  rendered  by  their  mingled 
villages  and  hamlets,  and  tracts  of  cultivation,  the  rich  levels  of  the 
vegas  so  many  "painted  gardens,"  had  almost  all  passed  away,  and 
the  native  princes  had  perished  chiefly  by  violent  and  ignominious 
deaths.  "  I  am  informed,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  the  sovereigns, 
"  that  since  I  left  this  island,  six  parts  out  of  seven  of  the  natives 
are  dead,  all  through  ill-treatment  and  inhumanity ;  some  by  the 
sword,  others  by  blows  and  cruel  usage,  others  through  hunger ; 
the  greater  part  have  perished  in  the  mountains,  whither  they  had 
fled,  from  not  being  able  to  support  the  labor  imposed  upon 
them." 

He  found  his  own  immediate  concerns  in  great  confusion.  His 
rents  and  arrears  were  either  uncollected,  or  he  could  not  obtain  a 
clear  account  and  a  full  liquidation  of  them  ;  and  he  complained 
that  Ovando  had  impeded  his  agents  in  their  management  of  his 
concerns.  The  continual  misunderstandings  which  took  place  be- 
tween him  and  the  governor,  though  always  qualified  on  the  part  of 
the  latter  with  courtly  complaisance,  induced  Columbus  to  hasten 
his  departure.  He  caused  the  ship  in  which  he  had  returned  from 
Jamaica  to  be  repaired  and  fitted  out,  and  another  hired,  in  which 
he  offered  a  passage  to  such  of  his  late  crew  as  chose  to  return. 
The  greater  part  preferred  to  remain  in  San  Domingo  :  as  they 
were  in  great  poverty,  he  relieved  their  necessities  from  his  own 
purse,  and  advanced  money  to  those  who  accompanied  him,  for  the 
expenses  of  their  voyage.     All  the  funds  he  could  collect  were  ex- 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


395 


hausted  in  these  disbursements,  and  many  of  the  men  thus  relieved 
by  his  generosity  had  been  among  the  most  violent  of  the  rebels. 
On  the  1 2th  of  September,  he  set  sail;  but  had  scarcely  left 
the  harbor,  when  the  mast  of  his  ship  was  carried  away  in  a  sudden 
squall.  He  embarked,  therefore,  with  his  family,  in  the  other  ves- 
sel, commanded  by  the  adelantado,  and  sent  back  the  damaged  ship 
to  port.  Fortune  continued  to  persecute  him  to  the  end  of  this  his 
last  and  most  disastrous  expedition.  Throughout  the  voyage  he 
experienced  tempestuous  weather,  suffering  at  the  same  time  the 
excruciating  torments  of  the  gout,  until,  on  the  7th  of  November, 
his  crazy  and  shattered  bark  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  San  Lucar. 
From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Seville,  to  enjoy  a  little  tranquillity 
of  mind  and  body,  and  to  recruit  his  health  after  his  long  series  of 
fatigues,  anxieties,  and  hardships. 


ARMOR   OF    THE    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 
ARTILLERY    MUSEUM,   PARIS. 


THE  GOLDEN  TOWER  OF  SEVILLE,  LANDING  PLACE  OF  ALL  THE  TREASURE  BROUGHT  FROM  AMERICA.     (FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH.) 


CHAPTER   XLV. 


FRUITLESS   APPLICATION   OF  COLUMBUS  TO   BE    REINSTATED    IN    HIS    GOVERNMENT. 
HIS   LAST  ILLNESS  AND   DEATH.       1504.' 


HE  residence  of  Columbus,  during  the  winter, 
at  Seville,  has  generally  been  represented  as  an 
interval  of  repose :  never  was  honorable  repose 
more  merited,  more  desired,  and  less  enjoyed. 
Care  and  sorrow  were  destined  to  follow  him,  by 
sea  and  land ;  and  in  varying  the  scene,  he  but 
varied  the  nature  of  his  afflictions.  Ever  since 
his  memorable  arrest  by  Bobadilla,  his  affairs 
had  remained  in  confusion,  and  his  rents  and 
dues  had  been  but  partially  and  irregularly  col- 
lected, and  were  detained  in  intermediate  hands.  The  last  voyage 
had  exhausted  his  finances,  and  involved  him  in  embarrassments. 
All  that  he  had  been  able  to  collect  of  the  money  due  to  him  in 


(107) 


39$  THE   LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

Hispaniola,  had  been  expended  in  bringing  home  many  of  his  late 
crew,  and,  for  the  greater  part,  the  crown  remained  his  debtor.  The 
world  thought  him  possessed  of  countless  wealth,  while  in  fact  he 
was  suffering  pecuniary  want. 

In  letters,  written  at  this  time,  to  his  son  Diego,  he  repeatedly 
urges  to  him  the  necessity  of  practicing  extreme  economy  until  the 
arrears  due  to  him  should  be  paid.  "  I  receive  nothing  of  the  reve- 
nue due  to  me,"  says  he,  on  another  occasion,  "  but  live  by  borrow- 
ing. Little  have  I  profited  by  twenty  years  of  toils  and  perils,  since 
at  present  I  do  not  own  a  roof  in  Spain.  I  have  no  resort,  but  an 
inn  ;  and,  for  the  most  times,  have  not  wherewithal  to  pay  my  bill." 

Being  unable,  from  his  infirmities,  to  go  to  court,  he  had  to 
communicate  with  the  sovereigns  by  letter,  or  through  the  inter- 
vention of  friends,  and  exerted  himself  strenuously,  but  ineffectu- 
ally, to  draw  their  attention  to  the  disastrous  state  of  Hispaniola 
under  the  administration  of  Ovando,  to  obtain  the  restitution  of 
his  honors,  and  the  payment  of  his  arrears,  and  what  seemed  to  lay 
equally  near  his  heart,  to  obtain  relief  for  his  unfortunate  seamen. 

His  letters  were  unregarded,  or  at  least  unanswered ;  his  claims 
remained  unsatisfied ;  and  a  cold  indifference  and  neglect  appeared 
to  prevail  towards  him.  All  the  tidings  from  the  court  filled  him 
with  uneasiness.  Porras,  the  ringleader  of  the  late  faction,  had  been 
sent  home  by  Ovando  to  appear  before  the  council  of  the  Indies, 
but  the  official  documents  in  his  cause  had  not  arrived.  He  went 
at  large,  and  being  related  to  Morales  the  royal  treasurer,  had  access 
to  people  in  place,  and  an  opportunity  of  enlisting  their  opinions 
and  prejudices  on  his  side.  Columbus  began  to  fear  that  the  vio- 
lent scenes  in  Jamaica  might,  by  the  perversity  of  his  enemies  and 
the  effrontery  of  the  delinquents,  be  wrested  into  matters  of  accu- 
sation against  him,  as  had  been  the  case  with  the  rebellion  of  Rol- 
dan.  The  faithful  and  indefatigable  Diego  Mendez  was  at  this  time 
at  court,  and  he  trusted  to  his  honest  representations  to  counteract 
the  falsehoods  of  Porras.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  affecting  ear- 
nestness and  simplicity  with  which,  in  one  of  his  letters,  he  declares 
his  loyalty.  "  I  have  served  their  majesties,"  says  he,  "  with  as  much 
zeal  and  diligence  as  if  it  had  been  to  gain  Paradise,  and  if  I  have 
failed  in  any  thing,  it  has  been  because  my  knowledge  and  powers 
went  no  further."  Whilst  reading  this  touching  appeal,  we  can 
scarcely  realize  the  fact,  that  it  should  be  written  by  Columbus,  the 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


599 


same  extraordinary  man,  who,  but  a  few  years  before,  had  been  idol- 
ized at  this  court  as  a  benefactor,  and  received  with  almost  royal 
honors. 

His  anxiety  to  have  a  personal  interview  with  the  sovereigns 
became  everj-  da}r  more  intense  ;  he  felt  the  inefficaey  of  letter  writ- 
ing, and,  indeed,  even  that  resource  began  to  fail  him,  for  the  sever- 
ity of  his  malady  for  a  great  part  of  the  time  deprived  him  of  the  use 
of  his  hands.  He  made  repeated  attempts  to  set  off  for  the  court ; 
a  litter  was  once  actually  at  the  door  to  convey  him  thither,  but  his 
increasing  infirmities,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  season,  obliged  him 
to  abandon  the  journey.  In  the  meantime,  the  intrigues  of  his  ene- 
mies appeared  to  be  prevailing ;  the  cold-hearted  Ferdinand  treated 
all  his  appli-  p 
cations  with 
indifference; 
on  the  just- 
ice and  mag- 
nanimity of 
Isabella, 
alone,  he  re- 
lied for  the 
redress  of 
his  griev- 
ances, but 
she  lay  dan- 
g  e  r  o  u  s  1  y 
ill.  "May  it 
please  the 
Holy  Trini- 
ty," says  he, 
"to  restore 
our  sover- 
eign queen  to  health  ;  for  by  her  will  every  thing  be  adjusted  which 
is  now  in  confusion."  Alas  !  while  writing  that  letter,  his  noble 
benefactress  was  a  corpse. 

The  health  of  Isabella  had  long  been  undermined  by  repeated 
shocks  of  domestic  calamities.  The  death  of  her  only  son,  the 
Prince  Juan ;  of  her  beloved  daughter,  and  bosom  friend,  the  Prin- 
cess Isabella ;  and  of  her  grandson  and  prospective  heir,  the  Prince 


AND  TESTAMENT.       (PAINTING  BY  EDWARD  ROSALES 


400 


THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 


Miguel,  had  been  three  cruel  wounds  to  her  maternal  heart.  To 
these  were  added  the  constant  grief  caused  by  the  infirmity  of  in- 
tellect of  her  daughter  Juana,  and  the  domestic  unhappiness  of  that 
princess  with  her  husband  the  Archduke  Philip.  The  desolation 
which  walks  through  palaces  admits  not  the  familiar  sympathies 
and  sweet  consolations  which  alleviate  the  sorrows  of  common  life. 
Isabella  pined  in  state,  amidst  the  obsequious  homage  of  a  court, 
surrounded  by  the  trophies  of  a  glorious  and  successful  reign,  and 

placed  at  the  summit  of  earthly  grandeur. 
A  deep  and  incurable  melancholy  settled 
upon  her,  which  undermined  her  constitu- 
tion, and  gave  a  fatal  acuteness  to  her  bodily 
maladies.  After  four  months  of  illness,  she 
died,  on  the  26th  of  November,  1504,  at 
Medina  del  Campo,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of 
her  age ;  but  long  before  her  eyes  closed 
upon  the  world,  her  heart  had  closed  upon 
all  its  pomps  and  vanities.  "  Let  my  body," 
said  she,  in  her  will,  "be  interred  in  the 
monaster}-  of  San  Francisco,  in  the  Alham- 
bra  of  the  city  of  Granada,  in  a  low  sepul- 
chre, with  no  other  monument  than  a  plain 
stone,  and  an  inscription.  But  I  desire  and 
command,  that  if  the  king,  my  lord,  should 
choose  a  sepulchre  in  any  church  or  monas- 
tery, in  any  other  part  or  place  of  these  my 
kingdoms,  that  my  body  be  transported 
thither,  and  buried  beside  the  body  of  his 
ISABELLA  highness ;    so    that  the   union   we   have    en- 

joyed while  living,  and  which,  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  we  hope  our  souls  will  experience  in  heaven,  may  be 
represented  by  our  bodies  in  the  earth."* 

Such  was  one  of  several  passages  in  the  will  of  this  admirable 
woman,  which  bespoke  the  chastened  humility  of  her  heart,  and  in 
which,  as  has   been  well  observed,  the   affections  of  conjugal  love 

*  The  dying  command  of  Isabella  has  been  obeyed.  The  author  of  this  work  has  seen 
her  tomb  in  the  roval  chapel  of  the  cathedral  of  Granada,  in  which  her  remains  are  interred 
with  those  of  Ferdinand.  Their  effigies,  sculptured  in  white  marble,  lie  side  by  side,  on  a 
magnificent  sepulchre.  The  altar  of  the  chapel  is  adorned  with  bas-reliefs  representing  the 
conquest  and  surrender  of  Granada. 


OK    COLUMBUS. 


401 


were  delicately  entwined  with  fervent  religion  and  the  most  tender 
melancholy.  She  was  one  of  the  purest  spirits  that  ever  ruled  over 
the  destinies  of  a  nation.  Had  she  been  spared,  her  benignant 
vigilance  would  have  prevented  many  a  scene  of  horror  in  the  colo- 
nization of  the  new  world,  and  might  have  softened  the  lot  of  its 
native  inhabitants.  As  it  is,  her  fair  name  will  ever  shine  with  ce- 
lestial radiance  in  the  early  dawning  of  its  history. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Isabella  reached  Columbus  while  he 
was  writing  a  letter  to  his  son.  He  notices  it  in  a  postscript  or 
memorandum,  written  in  the  haste  and  brevity  of  the  moment,  but 
in  beautifully  touching  and  mournful  terms.  "A  memorial,"  he 
writes,  "  for  thee,  my  dear  son  Diego,  of  what  is  at  present  to  be 
done.  The  principal  thing  is  to  commend  affectionately,  and  with 
great  devotion,  the  soul  of  the  queen,  our  sovereign,  to  God.  Her 
life  was  always  catholic  and  pious,  and  prompt  to  all  things  in  his 
holy  service ;  for  this  reason  we  may  rest  assured  that  she  is  re- 
ceived into  his  glory,  and  beyond  the  cares  of  this  rough  and  weary 
world.  The  next  thing  is,  to  watch  and  labor  in  all  matters  for  the 
service  of  our  sovereign,  the  king,  and  to  endeavor  to  alleviate  his 
grief.  His  majesty  is  the  head  of  Christendom.  Remember  the 
proverb,  which  says,  when  the  head  suffers,  all  the  members  suffer. 
Therefore  all 
good  Chris- 
tians should 
pray  for  his 
health  and 
long  life;  and 
we,  who  are 
in  his  em- 
ploy, ought 
more  than 
others  to  do 
this  with  all 
study  and 
diligence." 

It  is  im- 
possible to 
read  this  let- 
ter without 


SEPULCHRE    OF    THE    CATHOLIC    KING    AND   QUEEN,    FERDINAND    AND    ISABELLA.    DONA    JUANA,   "LA    LOCA,"    AND    D.    PHILIP    "EL    HERMOSO,' 
IN    THE    ROYAL    CHAPEL    OF    THE    CATHEDRAL    OF   GRANADA.       FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH. 


4-02  THE    LIFE    AND    VOYAGES 

being  moved  by  the  simply  eloquent  yet  artless  language  in  which 
Columbus  expresses  his  tenderness  for  the  memory  of  his  benefact- 
ress, his  weariness  under  the  gathering  cares  and  ills  of  life,  and 
his  persevering  and  enduring  loyalty  towards  the  sovereign  who 
was  so  ungratefully  neglecting  him. 

The  death  of  Isabella  was  a  fatal  blow  to  his  fortunes.  While 
she  lived,  he  had  every  thing  to  anticipate  from  her  high  sense 
of  justice,  her  regard  for  her  royal  word,  her  gratitude  for  his 
services,  and  her  admiration  of  his  character.  With  her  illness, 
however,  his  interests  had  languished ;  and  when  she  died,  he  was 
left  to  the  justice  and  generosity  of  Ferdinand! 

During  the  remainder  of  the  winter,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
spring,  he  remained  at  Seville,  detained  by  painful  illness.  His 
brother,  the  adelantado,  who  supported  him  with  his  accustomed 
fondness  and  devotion  through  all  his  trials,  proceeded  to  court  to 
attend  to  his  concerns,  taking  with  him  the  admiral's  younger  son, 
Fernando,  then  aged  about  seventeen.  The  latter  the  affectionate 
father  repeatedly  represents  to  his  son  Diego,  as  a  man  in  under- 
standing and  conduct,  though  but  a  stripling  in  years,  and  incul- 
cates the  strongest  fraternal  attachment ;  alluding  to  his  own 
brethren  with  one  of  those  warm  and  affecting  touches  which 
speak  the  kindness  of  his  heart.  "  To  thy  brother  conduct  thyself 
as  the  elder  brother  should  unto  the  \-ounger.  Thou  hast  no  other, 
and  I  praise  God  that  this  is  such  a  one  as  thou  dost  need.  Ten 
brothers  would  not  be  too  many  for  thee.  Never  have  I  found  a 
better  friend,  to  right  or  left,  than  my  brothers." 

Among  the  persons  whom  Columbus  employed,  at  this  time, 
in  his  missions  to  the  court,  was  Amerigo  Vespucci.  He  describes 
him  as  a  worthy  but  unfortunate  man,  who  had  not  profited  as 
much  as  he  deserved  by  his  undertakings,  and  who  had  always 
been  disposed  to  render  him  service. 

It  was  not  until  the  month  of  May  that  Columbus  was  able  to 
accomplish  his  journey  to  court,  which  was  at  that  time  at  Segovia. 
He,  who  but  a  few  years  before  had  entered  the  city  of  Barcelona 
in  triumph,  attended  by  the  chivalry  of  Spain,  and  hailed  with 
rapture  by  the  multitude,  now  arrived  at  the  gates  of  Segovia,  a 
way-worn,  melancholy,  and  neglected  man  ;  oppressed  even  more 
by  sorrows  than  by*his  years  and  infirmities.  When  he  presented 
himself  at  court,  he  was  made  lamentably  sensible  of  the  loss  of 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


403 


BRONZE    STATUE    OF    FEROINAND    IN    TH 
OF   MALAGA. 


his  protectress,  the  benignant  Isabella.     He  met  with  none  of  that 

distinguished    attention,    that    cordial    kindness,    that    cherishing 

sympathy,    which    his   unparalleled   services   and 

his    recent   sufferings    had    merited.     Ferdinand, 

it   is   true,   received   him   with   many   professions 

of   kindness ;     but    with    those    cold,    ineffectual 

smiles,    which    pass    like    wintry    sunshine    over 

the  countenance,  and  convey  no  warmth  to  the 

heart. 

Many  months  were  passed  by  Columbus  in 
painful  and  humiliating  solicitation.  His  main 
object  was  to  obtain  the  restitution  of  his  high 
offices  as  viceroy  and  governor  of  the  Indies  ;  as 
to  the  mere  pecuniary  claims  for  revenues  and 
arrears,  he  considered  them  of  minor  import- 
ance, and  nobly  offered  to  leave  them  to  the  dis- 
position of  the  king;  but  his  official  dignities 
belonged  to  his  reputation ;  they  had  been 
granted  also,  by  solemn  treaty,  and  were  not  to 
be  made  a  matter  of  arbitrament.  As  the  lat- 
ter, however,  were  precisely  the  claims  which  the  jealous  mon- 
arch was  the  least  disposed  to  grant,  they  stood  continually  in 
the  way  of  all  arrangement.  The  whole  matter  was  at  one  time 
referred  to  a  tribunal,  called  the  "Junta  de  Descargos,"  which 
had  charge  of  the  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  late  queen, 
but  nothing  resulted  from  their  deliberations  ;  the  wishes  of  the 
kine  were  too  well  known  to  be  thwarted. 

Columbus  endeavored  to  bear  these  delays  with  patience  ;  but 
he  had  no  longer  the  physical  strength,  and  the  glorious  anticipa- 
tions, which  had  once  sustained  him  through  his  long  application 
at  this  court.  He  was  again  confined  to  his  bed  by  a  return  of  the 
gout,  aggravated  by  the  irritations  of  his  spirit.  From  this  couch 
of  anguish,  he  addressed  one  more  appeal  to  the  justice  of  the  king. 
He  no  longer  petitioned  for  himself,  but  for  his  son  Diego.  He 
entreated  that  he  might  be  appointed  in  his  place  to  the  govern- 
ment of  which  he  had  been  so  wrongfully  deprived.  'This,"  said 
he,  "is  a  matter  which  concerns  my  honor;  as  to  all  the  rest,  do  as 
your  majesty  thinks  proper;  give  or  withhold,  as  may  be  most  for 
your  interest,  and  I   shall  be  content.     I  believe  it  is  the  anxiety 


404  THE    LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 

caused  by  the  delay  of  this  affair,  which  is  the  principal  cause  of 
my  ill  health." 

This  petition  was  treated  by  Ferdinand  with  his  usual  evasions  ; 
he  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  Columbus  and  his  son  to  waive  their 
claims  to  paramount  dignities  in  the  new  world,  and  accept,  in  place 
thereof,  titles  and  estates  in  Castile.  Columbus  rejected  all  propo- 
sals of  the  kind  with  indignation,  as  calculated  to  compromise  those 
titles  which  were  the  trophies  of  his  achievements.  He  saw,  how- 
ever, that  all  further  hope  of  redress  from  Ferdinand  was  vain. 
From  the  bed,  to  which  he  was  confined,  he  addressed  a  letter  to 
his  constant  friend,  Diego  de  Deza,  then  Archbishop  of  Seville,  ex- 
pressive of  his  despair.  "It  appears,"  said  he,  "that  his  majesty 
does  not  think  fit  to  fulfill  that,  which  he,  with  the  queeu  who  is 
now  in  glory,  promised  me  by  word  and  seal.  For  me  to  contend 
to  the  contrary,  would  be  to  contend  with  the  wind.  I  have  done 
all  that  I  could  do.  I  leave  the  rest  to  God,  whom  I  have  ever 
found  propitious  to  me  in  my  necessities." 

In  the  midst  of  illness  and  despondency,  when  both  life  and 
hope  were  expiring  in  the  bosom  of  Columbus,  a  new  gleam  was 
awakened,  and  blazed  up  for  the  moment  with  characteristic  fervor. 
He  heard  with  joy  of  the  arrival  from  Flanders  of  King  Philip  and 
Queen  Juana,  to  take  possession  of  their  throne  of  Castile.  In  the 
daughter  of  Isabella,  he  trusted  to  find  a  patroness  and  a  friend. 
King  Ferdinand  and  all  the  court  repaired  to  Loredo,  to  receive  the 
youthful  sovereigns.  Columbus  sent  his  brother,  the  adelantado, 
to  represent  him,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  king  and  queen,  la- 
menting his  being  prevented  by  illness  from  coming  in  person  to 
manifest  his  devotion.  He  expressed  a  hope,  that  he  should  receive 
at  their  hands  the  restitution  of  his  honors  and  estates  ;  and  as- 
sured them  that,  though  cruelly  tortured  at  present  by  disease,  he 
would  yet  be  able  to  render  them  services,  the  like  of  which  had 
never  been  witnessed. 

Such  was  the  last  sally  of  this  sanguine  and  unconquerable 
spirit;  which,  disregarding  age  and  infirmities,  and  all  past  sorrows 
and  disappointments,  spoke  from  his  dying  bed  with  all  the  confi- 
dence of  youthful  hope,  and  talked  of  still  greater  enterprises  as  if 
he  had  a  long  and  vigorous  life  before  him.  The  adelantado  took 
an  affectionate  leave  of  his  brother,  whom  he  was  never  to  behold 
again,  and  set  out  on  his  mission  to  the  new  sovereigns.     He  ex- 


(4°5) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


407 


perienced  the  most  gracious  reception,  and  flattering  hopes  were 
given  him  that  the  claims  of  the  admiral  would  speedily  be  satis- 
fied. 

In  the  mean-time,  the  cares  and  troubles  of  Columbus  were 
drawing  to  a  close.  The  transient  fire  which  had  recently  reani- 
mated him  was  soon  quenched  by  accumulating  infirmities.  Imme- 
diately after  the  departure  of  the  adelantado,  his  illness  increased 
in  violence.  Finding  that  his  end  was  approaching,  he  arranged 
all  his  earthly  affairs,  for  the  benefit  of  his  successors.  In  a  codi- 
cil made  on  the  eve  of  his  decease,  he  enforced  his  original  testa- 
ment, constituting  his  son  Diego  his  universal  heir,  entailing  his 
honors  and  estates  on  the  male  line  of  his  family,  and  providing  for 
his  brothers  Don  Bartholomew  and  Don  Diego,  and  his  natural  soii 
Don  Fernando.  In  his  will  he  enjoined  that  a  portion  of  his  reve- 
nues should  be  annually  deposited  in  the  bank  of  St.  George,  at 
Genoa,  until  a  sufficient  sum  should  be  accumulated  to  set  on  foot 
a  crusade  to  the  holy  land ;  for  the  rescue  of  the  holy  sepulchre 
was,  to  the  last,  the  great  object  of  his  ambition,  and  he  left  a  sol- 
emn charge  upon  his  heirs  to  aid  personally  in  the  pious  enterprise. 
Other  provisions  were  made  for  the  foundation  of  churches — the 
support  of  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother  of  Fernando — the  relief 
of  his  poor  relations,  and  the  payment  of  the  most  trivial 
debts. 

Having  thus  scrupulously  attended  to  all  the  claims  of  affec- 
tion, loyalty,  and  justice,  upon  earth,  he  turned  his  thoughts  to 
heaven,  confessing  himself,  partaking  of  the  holy  sacrament,  and 
complying  with  the  other  ceremonies  of  a  devout  Catholic.  In  his 
last  moments,  he  was  attended  by  his  son  Diego,  and  a  few  faithful 
followers,  among  whom  was  Bartholo- 
mew Fiesco,  who  had  accompanied 
Diego  Mendez  in  the  perilous  expedition 
from  Jamaica  to  Hispaniola.  Surround- 
ed by  these  devoted  friends,  he  expired, 
with  great  resignation,  on  the  20th  of 
May,  1506,  being  about  seventy  years 
of  age.  His  last  words  were,  "  In 
manus  tuas,  Domine,  commendo  spirit- 
um  meum."  "  Into  thy  hands,  O  Lord, 
I  commend  my  spirit." 


23 


HOUSE    IN    VALLADOLID   WHERE    COLUMBUS    DIED. 


CHAPTER  XL VI. 


OBSEQUIES     OF    COLUMBUS 


rest  m 
it  was 


HE  body  of  Columbus  was  deposited 
in  the  convent  of  San  Francisco,  and 
his    obsequies    were    celebrated    with 
funereal  pomp  in  the  parochial  church 
of    Santa    Maria    de    la   Antigua,    in 
Valladolid.     His  remains  were  trans- 
ported,   in    1513,    to    the    Carthusian 
convent    of    Las    Cuevas,    at    Seville, 
and  deposited  in  the  chapel  of  Santa 
Christo.     In  the  year  1536,  they  were 
removed  to  Hispaniola,  and  interred  by  the  side 
of  the  grand  altar  of  the  cathedral  of  the  city 
of  San  Domingo.     But  even  here  they  did  not 
quiet.    On  the  cession  of  Hispaniola  to  the  French,  in  1795, 
determined  by  the  Spaniards  to  bear  them  off  to  the  island 
of  Cuba    as    precious    relics,  connected    with   the    most 
glorious  epoch  of  Spanish  history.     Accordingly,  on  the 
20th  of  December,  1795,   in   the  presence  of  an  august 
assemblage  of   the    dignitaries  of   the  Church    and  the 
civil  and  military  officers,  the  vault  was  opened  beside 
the  high   altar  of  the   cathedral :  within  were  found  the 
fragments  of  a  leaden  coffin,  a  number  of  bones,  and  a 
quantity  of  mould,  evidently  the  remains  of  a  human 
bod}-.     These    were  carefully  collected,  and  put  into  a 
case  of  gilded  lead,  secured  by  an  iron  lock ;  the  case 
was  enclosed  in  a  coffin   covered  with   black  velvet,  and 


COLUMBUS   MONUMENT    IN    THE   CONVENT  OF 
LAS   CUEVAS,  SEVILLE. 

(408) 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


409 


LEADEN  COFFIN   WITH    THE   REMAINS  OF  COLUMB 
IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  SAN  DOMINGO,  SEPT. 


the  whole  placed  in  a  temporary  mausoleum.  On  the  following  day 
there  was  another  grand  convocation  at  the  cathedral :  the  vigils 
and  masses  for  the  dead  were  chanted,  and  a 
funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the  archbishop. 
After  these  solemn  ceremonials  in  the  cathedral, 
the  coffin  was  transported  to  the  ship,  attended 
by  a  grand  civil,  religious,  and  military  proces- 
sion. The  banners  were  covered  with  crape ; 
there  were  chants  and  responses,  and  discharges 
of  artillery ;  and  the  most  distinguished  persons 
of  the  several  orders  took  turns  to  support  the 
coffin. 

The  reception  of  the  body  at  Havana  was 
equally  august.  There  was  a  splendid  procession 
of  boats  to  conduct  it  from  the  ship  to  the  shore. 
On  passing  the  vessels  of  war  in  the  harbor,  they  all  paid  the  hon- 
ors due  to  an  admiral  and  captain-general  of  the  navy.  On  arriving 
at  the  mole,  the  remains  were  met  by  the  governor  of  the  island, 
accompanied  by  the  generals  of  the  military  staff.  They  were  then 
conveyed  in  the  utmost  pomp  to  the  cathedral.  Masses  and  the  sol- 
emn ceremonies  of  the  dead  were  performed  by  the  bishop,  and  the 
mortal  remains  of  Columbus  were  deposited  in  the  wall,  on  the  right 
side  of  the  grand  altar,  where  they  still  remain. 

It  is  with  deep  satisfaction  that  the  author  of  this  work  perused 
the  documents  which  give  an  account  of  a  ceremonial  so  noble  and 
affecting,  and  so  honorable  to  the  Spanish  nation.  When  we  read 
of  the  remains  of  Columbus  thus  conveyed  from  the 
port  of  San  Domingo,  after  an  interval  of  nearly  three 
hundred  years,  as  sacred  national  relics,  with  civil 
and  military  pomp,  and  high  religious  ceremonial, 
we  cannot  but  reflect  that  it  was  from  this  very  port 
he  was  cairied  off  loaded  with  ignominious  chains, 
blasted  apparently  in  fame  and  fortune,  and  taunted 
by  the  reviliugs  of  the  rabble :  such  honors,  it  is  true, 
are  nothing  to  the  dead,  nor  can  they  atone  to  the 
heart,  now  dust  and  ashes,  for  all  the  wrongs  and  sor- 
rows it  may  have  suffered  ;  but  they  speak  volumes 
of  comfort  to  the  illustrious  yet  slandered  and  per- 
secuted   living,    encouraging    them    bravely    to    bear 


in  FOUND 
1877. 


MEMORIAL    TABLET    IN    THE    CATHEDRAL    OF   THE 
HAVANA. 


4io 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


J> 


o 


to,, 


o 


Ot<i 


t% 


FRONT  AND  BACK 
ON      LEADEN     BOX     CONTAINING      THE     SUPPOSED    RE 


LOWER    INSCRIPTION 


UA.    PTE.   DE  LOS  RTOS 
DEL    PMER.  ALTE.  DN 

CRISTOVAL  COLON  DOR 


with  present  injuries,  by  showing  them  how  true  merit  outlives  all 
calumny,  and  receives  its  glorious  reward  in  the  admiration  of  after 
ages. 

NOTE    FROM    JUSTIN    WINSOR'S       CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS." 

It  is  a  question  which  has  been  raised  since  1877  whether  the 
body  of  Columbus  was  the  one  then  removed,  and  over  which  so 
much  parade  was  made  during  the  transportation  and 
re-interment  in  Cuba.  There  has  been  a  controversy 
on  the  point,  in  which  the  Bishop  of  Santo  Domingo 
and  his  adherents  have  claimed  that  the  remains  of 
Columbus  are  still  in  their  charge,  while  it  was  those 
of  his  son  Diego  which  had  been  removed.  The 
Academy  of  History  at  Madrid  have  denied  this,  and 
in  a  long  report  to  the  Spanish  Government  have 
of  outside  silver  plate  found  asserted    that   there   was    no  mistake  in   the  transfer, 

...     CONTAINING      THE     SUPPOSED    RE-  .       .  -  -  ..  - 

mains  of  columbus,  cathedral  of  san  oomingo.  an(j    that    the    additional    casket    found    was    that    of 

Christopher  Colon,  the  grandson.     It  was  represented, 
moreover,   that   those    features    of  the   inscription   on 
the   lately   found   leaden  box  which    seemed    to   indi- 
cate it  as  the  casket  of  the  first  admiral  of  the  Indies 
had  been  fraudulently  added  or  altered.    The  question 
has  probably  been  thrown  into  the  category  of  doubtj  though  the 
case  as  presented  in  favor  of  Santo  Domingo  has  some  recognizably 
weak  points,  which  the  advocates  of  the  other  side  have  made  the 
most  of,  and  to  the  satisfaction,  perhaps,  of  the  more  careful  inquir- 
ers.      The 
con  trover- 
sial  litera- 
ture    on 
the  subject 
i  s    consid- 
e  r  a  b  1  e  . 
The    re- 
pairs   of 
1887  in  the 
Santo   Do- 
mingo   ca- 
thedral re- 
vealed  the 

THE  INSCRIPTIONS  ON  THE  TWO  SIDES  OF  THE  HINGED  LID  OF  LEADEN  COFFIN  FOUND  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  SAN  DOMINGO,   SEPT.   10,  1877. 

UPPER  INSCRIPTION  ON  OUTSIDE  OF  LID  I  D.  DE  LA  A  PER  A.  STANDS  FOR:  DESCUBRIDOR  DE  LA  AMERICA,  PRIMER  ALMIRANTE.  TRANSLA- 
TION:   DISCOVERER   OF    AMERICA,    FIRST    ADMIRAL. 

LOWER  INSCRIPTION  ON  INSIDE  OF  LID:  ILLRE  V  ESDO.  VARON  DU  CRISTOVAL  COLON.  STANDS  FOR:  ILLUSTRE  Y  ESCLAREClDO  VARON, 
DON    CRISTOVAL    COLON.       TRANSLATION:     ILLUSTRIOUS    AND    FAMOUS    MAN,     DON    CRISTOVAL    COLON. 


STANDS    FOR 

URNA  PERTENECIENTE  DE  LOS  RESTOS  DEL  PRIMER 
ALMIRANTE    DON  CRISTOVAL   COLON,    DESCUBRIDOR. 

TRANSLATION:  URN  BELONGING  TO  THE  REMAINS  OF 
THE  FIRST  ADMIRAL  DON  CRISTOVAL  COLON,  DISCOV- 
ERER. 


OF   COLUMBUS. 


411 


empty  vault  from  which  the  transported  body  had  been  taken  ;  but 
they  showed  also  the  occupied  vault  of  the  grandson  Luis,  and 
another  in  which  was  a  leaden  case  which  bore  the  inscriptions 
which   are  in  dispute. 

It  is  the  statement  of  the  Historic*  that  Columbus  preserved 
the  chains  in  which  he  had  come  home  from  his  third  voyage,  and 
that  he  had  them  buried  with  him,  or  intended  to  do  so.  The  story 
is  often  repeated,  but  it  has  no  other  authority  than  the  somewhat 
dubious  one  of  that  book  ;  and  it  finds  no  confirmation  in  Las  Casas, 
Peter  Martyr,  Bernaldez,  or  Oviedo. 

Humboldt  says  that  he  made  futile  inquiry  of  those  who  had 
assisted  in  the  re-interment  at  Havana  if  there  were  any  trace  of 
these  fetters  or  of  oxide  of  iron  in  the  coffin.  In  the  accounts  of 
the  recent  discovery  of  remains  at  Santo  Domingo,  it  is  said  that 
there  was  equally  no  trace  of  fetters  in  the  casket. 

*  Historic  the  Italian  title  of  the  biographical  book  written  by  his  son  Fernando. 


MARBLE  MONUMENT  OF  COLUMEUI 
AT   MADRID. 

Executed  by  D.  Jeronimo  S\iun 


CHAPTER   XL VII. 


OBSERVATIONS   ON  THE   CHARACTER   OF  COLUMBUS. 

OLUMBUS  was  a  man  of  great  and  inventive 
genius.  The  operations  of  his  mind  were  ener- 
getic, but  irregular,  bursting  forth,  at  times,  with 
that  irresistible  force  which  characterizes  intellects 
of  such  an  order.  His  ambition  was  lofty  and 
noble,  inspiring  him  with  high  thoughts,  and  an 
anxiety  to  distinguish  himself  by  great  achieve- 
ments. He  aimed  at  dignity  and  wealth  in  the  same 
elevated  spirit  with  which  he  sought  renown;  they 
were  to  rise  from  the  territories  he  should  discover,  and  be  com- 
mensurate in  importance.  The  vast  gains  that  he  anticipated  from 
his  discoveries,  he  intended  to  appropriate  to  princely  purposes ;  to 
institutions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  his  native  city,  to  the  foun- 
dation of  churches,  and,  above  all,  to  crusades  for  the  recovery  of 
the  holy  sepulchre. 

He  was  tenacious  of  his  rank  and  privileges,  not  from  a  mere 
vulgar  love  of  titles,  but  because  he  prized  them  as  testimonials 
and  trophies  of  his  illustrious  deeds.  Every  question  of  compro- 
mise concerning  them,  he  repulsed  with  disdain.  "  These  things," 
said  he,  nobly,  "concern  my  honor."  In  his  testament,  he  enjoined 
on  his  son  Diego,  and  whomsoever  after'  him  should  inherit  his 
estates,  whatever  other  titles  might  be  granted  by  the  king,  always 
to  sign  himself,  simply,  "  The  Admiral,"  by  way  of  perpetuating  in 
the  family  the  source  of  its  real  greatness. 

His  conduct  was  characterized  by  the  grandeur  of  his  views, 
and  the  magnanimity  of  his  spirit.     Instead  of  ravaging  the  newly- 


(4.2) 


OF    COLUMBUS. 


413 


found  countries  like  many  of  his  contemporary  discoverers,  who 
were  intent  only  on  immediate  gain,  he  regarded  them  with  the 
eyes  of  a  legislator;  he  sought  to  colonize  and  cultivate  them,  to 
civilize  the  natives,  to  subject 
every  thing  to  the  control  of  law, 
order,  and  religion,  and  thus  to 
found  regular  and  prosperous  em- 
pires. That  he  failed  in  this,  was 
the  fault  of  the  dissolute  rabble 
which  it  was  his  misfortune  to  1 
command,  with  whom  all  law  was 
tyranny,  and  all  order  oppression. 
He  was  naturally  irritable  and 
impetuous,  and  keenly  sensible  to 
injury  and  injustice;  yet  the  quick- 
ness of  his  temper  was  counteracted 
by  the  benevolence  and  generosity 
of  his  heart.  The  magnanimity  of 
his  nature  shone  forth  through  all 
the  troubles  of  his  stormy  career. 
Though  continually  outraged 
his  dignity,  braved  in  his  authority, 
foiled  in  his  plans,  and  endangered 
in  his  person,  by  the  seditions  of 
turbulent  and  worthless  men,  and 
that,  too,  at  times  when  suffering 
under  anguish  of  body  and  anxiety 
of  mind,  enough  to  exasperate  the 
most  patient,  yet  he  restrained  his 
valiant  and  indignant  spirit,  and 
brought  himself  to  forbear,  and 
reason,  and  even  to  supplicate. 
Nor  should  we  fail  to  notice  how 
free  he  was  from  all  feeling  of 
revenge,  how  ready  to  forgive  and 
forget  on  the  least  signs  of  repentance  and  atonement.  He  has 
been  extolled  for  his  skill  in  controlling  others,  but  far  greater 
praise  is  due  to  him  for  the  firmness  he  displayed  in  governing 
himself. 


m     s 


THE    PARMIGIANO    PORTRAIT    OF    COLUMBUS. 

An  alleged  portrait  of  Columbus  which  has  more  artistic  merit  than  most 
of  the  others,  and  was  selected  by  Prescott  to  illustrate  his  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella.  It  was  formerly  claimed  to  be  genuine,  but  the  best  authorities  now 
declare  that  it  is  not  a  portrait  of  Columbus  at  all,  but  of  one  Gilberto  di  Sas- 
suolo,  an  Italian  statesman  and  scholar  who  lived  in  Naples  from  1502  to  1570. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  painted  by  Francesco  Mazzioli,  who  took  the 
name  of  Parmigiano  in  honor  of  his  native  city,  Parma.  He  was  born  in 
1503,  so  that  he  was  but  three  years  old  at  the  death  of  Columbus,  and  he 
died  in  1540.  He  was  a  student  of  Raphael  and  produced  many  great  works, 
including  a  portrait  of  Amerigo  Vespucci,  which  was  also  fanciful.  The  so- 
called  Columbus  portrait  was  executed  at  Parma  in  1527  at  the  order  of  Car- 
dinal Alexander  Farnese.  The  King  of  Naples  succeeded  to  the  Farnese 
estates  and  removed  the  painting  to  the  Royal  Museum.  The  picture  is  a 
rare  example  of  art.  but  does  not  bear  the  slightest  resemblance  to  the  feat- 
ures of  the  admiral  as  described  by  his  contemporaries,  nor  is  the  garb  such 
as  was  worn  in  Spain  at  the  time  he  lived. —  The  Columbus  Portraits: 
II  'illiam  Eleroy  Curtis  in  the  February  Cosmopolitan,  1SQ2. 


414  THE   LIFE   AND    VOYAGES 

His  piety  was  genuine  and  fervent ;  religion  mingled  with  the 
whole  course  of  his  thoughts  and  actions,  and  shone  forth  in  his 
most  private  and  unstudied  writings.  Whenever  he  made  any 
great  discovery,  he  devoutly  returned  thanks  to  God.  The  voice 
of  prayer  and  the  melody  of  praise  rose  from  his  ships  on  discov- 
ering the  new  world,  and  his  first  action  on  landing  was  to  pros- 
trate himself  upon  the  earth,  and  offer  up  thanksgivings.  Every 
evening,  the  Salve  Regina,  and  other  vesper  hymns,  were  chanted 
by  his  crew,  and  masses  were  performed  in  the  beautiful  groves 
that  bordered  the  wild  shores  of  this  heathen  land.  All  his  great 
enterprises  were  undertaken  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
he  partook  of  the  holy  sacrament  previous  to  embarkation.  He 
observed  the  festivals  of  the  Church  in  the  wildest  situations.  The 
Sabbath  was  to  him  a  day  of  sacred  rest,  on  which  he  would  never 
sail  from  a  port  unless  in  case  of  extreme  necessity.  The  religion, 
thus  deeply  seated  in  his  soul,  diffused  a  sober  dignity,  and  a  be- 
nign composure,  over  his  whole  deportment ;  his  very  language 
was  pure  and  guarded,  and  free  from  all  gross  or  irreverent  ex- 
pressions. 

It  can  not  be  denied,  however,  that  his  piety  was  mingled  with 
superstition,  and  darkened  by  the  bigotry  of  the  age.  He  evi- 
dently concurred  in  the  opinion,  that  all  the  nations  who  did  not 
acknowledge  the  Christian  faith  were  destitute  of  natural  rights ; 
and  that  the  sternest  measures  might  be  used  for  their  conversion, 
and  the  severest  punishments  inflicted  upon  them,  if  obstinate  in 
unbelief.  In  this  spirit  of  bigotry  he  considered  himself  justified 
in  making  captives  of  the  Indians,  and  transporting  them  to  Spain, 
to  have  them  taught  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  in  selling 
them  for  slaves  if  they  pretended  to  resist  his  invasions.  In  doing 
the  latter,  he  sinned  against  the  natural  goodness  of  his  heart,  and 
against  the  feelings  he  had  originally  entertained  and  expressed 
towards  this  gentle  and  hospitable  people;  but  he  was  goaded  on 
by  the  mercenary  impatience  of  the  crown,  and  by  the  sneers  of 
his  enemies,  at  the  unprofitable  result  of  his  enterprises.  It  is  but 
justice  to  his  character  to  observe,  that  the  enslavement  of  the 
Indians  thus  taken  in  battle  was  at  first  openly  countenanced  by 
the  crown,  and  that,  when  the  question  of  right  came  to  be  dis- 
cussed at  the  request  of  the  queen,  several  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished jurists  and  theologians  advocated  the  practice;  so  that 


OF   COLUMBUS.  415 

the  question  was  finally  settled,  in  favor  of  the  Indians,  solely  by 
the  humanity  of  Isabella.  As  the  venerable  Bishop  Las  Casas  ob- 
serves, where  the  most  learned  men  have  doubted,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  an  unlearned  mariner  should  err. 

These  remarks,  in  palliation  of  the  conduct  of  Columbus,  are 
required  by  candor.  It  is  proper  to  show  him  in  connection  with 
the  age  in  which  he  lived,  lest  the  errors  of  the  times  should  be 
considered  his  individual  faults.  It  is  not  intended,  however,  to 
justif}'  him  on  a  point  where  it  is  inexcusable  to  err.  Let  it  re- 
main a  blot  on  his  illustrious  name,  and  let  others  derive  a  lesson 
from  it. 

A  peculiar  trait  in  his  rich  and  varied  character  remains  to  be 
noticed  ;  namely,  that  ardent  and  enthusiastic  imagination,  which 
threw  a  magnificence  over  his  whole  course  of  thought.  A  poet- 
ical temperament  is  discernible  throughont  all  his  writings  and  in 
all  his  actions.  We  see  it  in  all  his  descriptions  of  the  beauties  of 
the  wild  lands  he  was  discovering ;  in  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
he  extols  the  verdure  of  the  forests,  the  grandeur  of  the  mount- 
ains, and  the  crystal  clearness  of  the  running  streams ;  the  bland- 
ness  of  the  temperature,  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
fragrance  of  the  air,  "full  of  dew  and  sweetness."  It  spread  a 
golden  and  glorious  world  around  him,  and  tinged  every  thing  with 
its  own  gorgeous  colors.  It  betrayed  him  into  visionary  specula- 
tions, which  subjected  him  to  the  sneers  and  cavils  of  men  of  cooler 
and  safer,  but  more  groveling  minds.  Such  were  the  conjectures 
formed  on  the  coast  of  Paria,  about  the  form  of  the  earth,  and  the 
situation  of  the  terrestrial  Paradise ;  about  the  mines  of  Ophir,  and 
the  Aurea  Chersonesus  of  the  ancients ;  and  such  was  the  heroic 
scheme  of  a  crusade,  for  the  recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre.  It 
filled  his  mind  with  solemn  and  visionary  meditations  on  mystic 
passages  of  the  Scriptures,  and  on  the  shadowy  portents  of  the 
prophecies.  It  exalted  his  own  office  in  his  eyes,  and  made  him 
conceive  himself  an  agent  sent  forth  upon  a  sublime  and  awful 
mission,  and  subject  to  mysterious  intimations  from  the  Deity; 
such  as  the  voice  which  he  imagined  spoke  to  him  in  comfort  amidst 
the  troubles  of  Hispaniola,  and  in  the  silence  of  the  night  on  the 
disastrous  coast  of  Veragua. 

He  was  decidedly  a  visionary,  but  a  visionary  of  an  uncommon 
kind,  and  successful  in  his  dreams.     The  manner  in  which  his  ar- 


416 


THE    LIFE   AND   VOYAGES 


dent  imagination  and  mercurial  nature  were  controlled  by  a  pow- 
erful judgment,  and  directed  by  an  acute  sagacity,  is  the  most 
extraordinary  feature  in  his  character.  Thus  governed,  his  imag- 
ination, instead  of  exhausting  itself  in  idle  flights,  lent  aid  to  his 
judgment,  and  enabled  him  to  form  conclusions  at  which  common 
minds  could  never  have  arrived,  nay,  which  they  could  not  perceive 
when  pointed  out. 

To  his  intellectual  vision  it  was  given  to  read  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  to  trace  in  the  conjectures  and  reveries  of  past  ages  the 
indications  of  an  unknown  world,  as  soothsayers  were  said  to  read 
predictions  in  the  stars,  and  to  foretell  events  from  the  visions  of 
the  night.  "  His  soul,"  observes  a  Spanish  writer,  "was  superior  to 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.  For  him  was  reserved  the  great  enter- 
prise of  traversing  a  sea  which  had  given  rise  to  so  many  fables, 
and  of  deciphering  the  mystery  of  his  age." 

With  all  the  visionary  fervor  of  his  imagination,  its  fondest 
dreams  fell  short  of  the  reality.  He  died  in  ignorance  of  the  real 
grandeur  of  his  discovery!  Until  his  last  breath,  he  entertained 
the  idea  that  he  had  merely  opened  a  new  way  to  the  old  resorts  of 
opulent  commerce,  and  had  discovered  some  of  the  wild  regions  of 
the  East.  He  supposed  Hispaniola  to  be  the  ancient  Ophir,  which 
had  been  visited  by  the  ships  of  King  Solomon,  and  that  Cuba  and 
Terra  Firma  were  but  remote  parts  of  Asia.  What  visions  of  glory 
would  have  broken  upon  his  mind,  could  he  have  known  that  he 
had  indeed  discovered  a  new  continent  equal  to  the  old  world  in 
magnitude,  and  separated  by  two  vast  oceans  from  all  the  earth 
hitherto  known  by  civilized  man  !  and  how  would  his  magnanimous 
spirit  have  been  consoled,  amidst  the  afflictions  of  age,  and  the 
cares  of  penury,  the  neglect  of  a  fickle  public,  and  the  injustice  of 
an  ungrateful  king,  could  he  have  anticipated  the  splendid  empires 
which  would  arise  in  the  beautiful  world  he  had  discovered ;  and 
the  nations  and  tongues  and  languages  which  were  to  fill  its  lands 
with  his  renown,  and  to  revere  and  bless  his  name  to  the  latest  pos- 
terity ! 


Book  II. 


(417) 


(4'8) 


FERDINAND    CORTES. 

PAINTING    IN     POSSESSION    OF    THE     MARQUIS    OF    SALAMANCA. 


"  '  ///     '"   / 

Ml  I 


CHAPTER  XL VIII. 


THE  CONQUEST  AND   SETTLEMENT  OF  THE   ISLAND  OF  CUBA. 

treatment  of  the  inhabi- 
the  island  of  San  Domingo 
having  almost  extirpated  the  race,  many 
of  the  Spanish  planters,  finding  it  im- 
possible to  carry  on  their  works  with 
the  same  vigor  and  profit,  were  obliged 
to  look  out  for  settlements  in  some 
country  where  people  were  not  yet 
wasted  by  oppression.  Others,  with 
^j-  the  inconsiderate  levity  natural  to  men 
upon  whom  wealth  pours  in  with  a  sud- 
den flow,  had  squandered  in  thought- 
less prodigality  what  they  acquired  with 
ease,  and  were  driven  by  necessity  to 
embark  in  the  most  desperate  schemes, 
**  in  order  to  retrieve  their  affairs.  From  all 
these  causes,  when  Diego  Columbus  proposed  to 
conquer  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  to  establish  a 
colon}'  there,  many  persons  of  chief  distinction  in  Hispaniola  engaged 
with  alacrity  in  the  measure.  He  gave  the  command  of  the  troops 
destined  for  that  service  to  Diego  Velasquez,  one  of  his  father's  com- 
panions in  his  second  voyage,  and  who,  having  been  long  settled  in 
Hispaniola,  had  acquired  an  ample  fortune,  with  such  reputation  for 
probity  and  prudence,  that  he  seemed  to  be  well  qualified  for  conduct- 
ing an  expedition  of  importance.    Three  hundred  men  were  deemed 


(421) 


422 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


sufficient  for  the  conquest  of  an  island  of  above  seven  hundred  miles 
in  length,  and  filled  with  inhabitants.  But  they  were  of  the  same 
un warlike  character  with  the  people  of  Hispaniola.  They  were  not 
only  intimidated  by  the  appearance  of  their  new  enemies,  but  un- 
prepared to  resist  them.  For  though,  from  the  time  that  the  Span- 
iards took  possession  of  the  adjacent  island,  there  was  reason  to 
expect  a  descent  on  their  territories,  none  of  the  small  communities 
into  which  Cuba  was  divided,  had  either  made  any  provision  for  its 
own  defense,  or  had  formed  any  concert  for  their  common  safety. 
The  only  obstruction  the  Spaniards  met  with  was  from  Hatuey, 
a   cacique,  who  had  fled  from  Hispaniola,  and  had  taken  pos- 

session of  the  eastern  extremity  of  Cuba. 
He  stood  upon  the  defensive  at  their 
first  landing,  and  endeavored  to  drive 
them  back  to  their  ships. 
His  f  e  eble 
troops,  how- 
ever, were 
i,  soon  broken 
and  dispers- 
ed ;  and  he 
himself  being 
taken  prisoner, 
Velasquez,  ac- 
cording to  the 
barbarous  maxim  of 
the  Spaniards,  con- 
sidered him  as  a  slave  who 
had  taken  arms  against  his 
master,  and  condemned 
him  to  the  flames.  When  Hatuey  was  fastened  to  the  stake,  a  Fran- 
ciscan friar  laboring  to  convert  him,  promised  him  immediate  admit- 
tance to  the  joys  of  heaven,  if  he  would  embrace  the  Christian  faith. 
"Are  there  any  Spaniards,"  says  he,  after  some  pause,  "  in  that  region 
of  bliss  which  j-ou  describe  ?  "  "  Yes,"  replied  the  monk,  "  but  only 
such  as  are  worthy  and  good."  "  The  best  of  them,"  returned  the 
indignant  cacique,  "  have  neither  worth  nor  goodness  :  I  will  not 
go  to  a  place  where  I  may  meet  with  one  of  that  accursed  race." 
This  dreadful  example  of  vengeance  struck  the  people  of  Cuba  with 


THE    IGNOBLE   AND   CRUEL    DEATH    OF  THE   CAC'QUE    HATUEY.  WHO    EVEN    AT    THE    LAST 
TO    MEET    HIS   OPPHESSORS    IN    THE    WORLD   TO  COME. 


OMENT    DISDAINS 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO.  423 

such  terror,  that  the}'  scarcely  gave  any  opposition  to  the  progress 
of  their  invaders  ;  and  Velasquez,  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  an- 
nexed this  extensive  and  fertile  island  to  the  Spanish  monarch)-. 

Diego  Velasquez  retained  the  government  of  that  island,  as  the 
deputy  of  Don  Diego  Columbus,  though  he  seldom  acknowledged 
his  superior,  and  aimed  at  rendering  his  own  authority  altogether 
independent.  Under  his  prudent  administration,  Cuba  became  one 
of  the  most  flourishing  of  the  Spanish  settlements.  The  fame  of 
this  allured  thither  many  persons  from  the  other  colonies,  in  hopes 
of  finding  either  some  permanent  establishment  or  some  employ- 
ment for  their  activity.  As  Cuba  lay  to  the  west  of  all  the  islands 
occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  and  as  the  ocean  which  stretches  beyond 
it  towards  that  quarter  had  not  hitherto  been  explored,  these  cir- 
cumstances naturally  invited  the  inhabitants  to  attempt  new  dis- 
coveries. An  expedition  for  this  purpose,  in  which  activity  and 
resolution  might  conduct  to  sudden  wealth,  was  more  suited  to  the 
genius  of  the  age  than  the  patient  industry  requisite  in  clearing 
ground  and  manufacturing  sugar.  Instigated  by  this  spirit,  several 
officers,  who  had  served  under  Pedrarias  in  Darien,  entered  into  an 
association  to  undertake  a  voyage  of  discovery.  They  persuaded 
Francisco  Hernandez  Cordova,  an  opulent  planter  in  Cuba,  and  a 
man  of  distinguished  courage,  to  join  with  them  in  the  adventure, 
and  chose  him  to  be  their  commander.  Velasquez  not  only  approved 
of  the  design,  but  assisted  in  carrying  it  on.  As  the  veterans  from 
Darien  were  extremely  indigent,  he  and  Cordova  advanced  money 
for  purchasing  three  small  vessels,  and  furnished  them  with  every 
thing  requisite  either  for  traffic  or  for  war.  A  hundred  and  ten 
men  embarked  on  board  of  them,  and  sailed  from  St.  Jago  de  Cuba 
on  the  8th  of  February,  15 17.  By  the  advice  of  their  chief  pilot* 
Antonio  Alaminos,  who  had  served  under  the  first  admiral  Colum- 
bus, they  stood  directly  west,  relying  on  the  opinion  of  that  great 
navigator,  who  uniformly  maintained  that  a  westerly  course  would 
lead  to  the  most  important  discoveries. 

On  the  twenty-first  da)'  after  their  departure  from  St.  Jago, 
they  saw  land,  which  proved  to  be  Cape  Catochc,  the  eastern  point 
of  that  large  peninsula  projecting  from  the  continent  of  America 
which  still  retains  its  original  name  of  Yucatan.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  shore,  five  canoes  came  off  full  of  people  decently  clad 
in  cotton  garments ;  an  astonishing  spectacle  to  the  Spaniards,  who 


24 


424 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


had  found  every  other  part  of  America  possessed  by  naked  savages. 
Cordova  endeavored  by  small  presents  to  gain  the  good-will  of 
these  people.  They,  though  amazed  at  the  strange  objects  now- 
presented,  for  the  first  time,  to  their  view,  invited  the  Spaniards  to 
visit  their  habitations,  with  an  appearance  of  cordiality.  They 
landed  accordingly,  and  as  they  advanced  into  the  country,  they 
observed  with  new  wonder  some  large  houses  built  with  stone.  But 
they  soon  found  that,  if  the  people  of  Yucatan  had  made  progress 

in  improvement  beyond 
their  countrymen,  they 
were  likewise  more  artful 
and  warlike.  For  though 
the  cacique  received  Cor- 
dova with  many  tokens 
of  friendship,  he  had 
posted  a  considerable 
body  of  his  subjects  in 
ambush  behind  a  thicket, 
who,  upon  a  signal  given 
by  him,  rushed  out  and 
attacked  the  Spaniards 
with  great  boldness,  and 
some  degree  of  martial 
order.  At  the  first  flight 
of  their  arrows,  fifteen 
of  the  Spaniards  were 
wounded;  but  the  Indians 
were  struck  with  such 
terror  by  the  sudden  ex- 
plosion of  the  firearms, 
and  so  surprised  at  the 
execution  done  by  them, 
by  the  cross-bows,  and  by 
the  other  weapons  of  their 
new  enemies,  that  they 
fled  precipitately.  Cor- 
dova quitted  a  country 
where  he  had  met  with 
such    a    fierce    reception, 


LACONDAN   'YUCATAN)  CACIQUE  AND   FAMILY. 

SHOWING    TYPE    ANO    COSTUMES    OF   THE    NATIVES   OF   THE    PRESENT   OAV  J     THEY    HAVING    MADE    BUT    LITTLE 
ADVANCEMENT    OVER   THEIR   ANCESTORS   AT   THE    TIME    OF   THE   CONQUEST.— D.  Chaanav. 


THK   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


42.5 


carrying  off  two  prisoners,  together  with  the  ornaments  of  a  small 
temple,  which  he  plundered  in  his  retreat. 

He  continued  his  course  towards  the  west,  without  losing  sight 
of  the  coast,  and  on  the  sixteenth  day  arrived  at  Campeachy.  There 
the  natives  received  them  more  hospitably ;  but  the  Spaniards  were 
much  surprised,  that  on  all  the  extensive  coast  along  which  they 
had  sailed,  and  which  they  imagined  to  be  a  large  island,  they  had 
not  observed  any  river.  As  their  water  began  to  fail,  they  ad- 
vanced, in  hopes  of  finding  a  supply  ;  and  at  length  they  discov- 
ered  the 
mouth  of  a 
river  at  Po- 
tonchan,  a 
few  leagues 
beyond 
Campeachy. 
Cordova 
landed  all 
his  troops, 
in  order  to 
protect  the 
sailorswhile 
employed  in 
filling  the 
casks ;  but 
notwith- 
standing 
this  precau- 
tion, the  na- 
tives rushed 

down  upon  them  with  such  fury  and  in  such  numbers,  that  forty- 
seven  of  the  Spaniards  were  killed  upon  the  spot,  and  one  man 
only  of  the  whole  body  escaped  unhurt.  Their  commander, 
though  wounded  in  twelve  different  places,  directed  the  retreat 
with  presence  of  mind  equal  to  the  courage  with  which  he  had 
led  them  on  in  the  engagement,  and  with  much  difficulty  they 
regained  their  ships.  After  this  fatal  repulse,  nothing  remained 
but  to  hasten  back  to  Cuba  with  their  shattered  forces.  In 
their  passage  thither  they  suffered  the  most  exquisite  distress  for 


PRINCIPAL  FACADE  OF  THE  PALACE  OF  THE    NUNS   AT  CHICHEN— ITZA     YUCATAN. 

THt   AZTEC   AND    MAYA    RELIGION    INTRODUCED    AMONG    THEIR    VOTARIES    A    VERY    SIMILAR   INSTITUTION    TO   THE   ONE    AMONO.    ROMAN 
CATHOLICS.      THEIR    NUNS    REMAINED   CELIBATES,    DWELT    IN    CONVENTS,    TOOK    RELIGIOUS    VOWS,    ETC. 


426 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


want  of  water,  that  men  wounded,  and  sickly,  shut  up  in  small  ves- 
sels, and  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  torrid  zone,  can  be  supposed  to 
endure.  Some  of  them,  sinking  under  these  calamities,  died  by 
the  way  ;  Cordova,  their  commander,  expired  soon  after  they  landed 
in  Cuba. 


LEFT  WING  OF    THE   PALACE   OF    THE  NUNS  AT 
CHICHEN— ITZA,   YUCATAN. 

WOMEN  WERE  ALLOWED  TO    EXERCISE   SACERDOTAL    FUNCTIONS, 

EXCEPT    THOSE  OF    SACRIFICE.       ONE    OF  THE    EARLY   MISSIONARIES,    FATHER 

ACOSTA,    EXCLAIMS:      "IN   TRUTH,    IT   IS   VERY    STRANGE   TO   SEE  THAT   THIS    FALSE 

OPINION      OF     RELIGION     HATH    SO     GREAT     FORCE    AMONG     THESE    YOUNG     MEN    AND     MAIDENS 

OF    MEXICO,  THAT  THEY  WILL  SERVE  THE    DIVELL  WITH    SO   GREAT    RIGOR  AND   AUSTERITY,  WHICH    MANY 

OF    US    DOE  NOT    IN  THE   SERVICE    OF   THE    MOST    HIGH    GOD;     THE   WHICH    IS  A    GREAT  SHAME  AND   CONFUSION.'' 

ENGLISH    TRANSLATION,    LIB.    5,    CAP.    6. 


l 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 


VOYAGE   OF  JUAN    OE   GRIJALVA.      DISCOVERY   OF   NEW   SPAIN,   THE    MODERN    MEXICO.     M5I8.' 


OTWITHSTANDING  the  disastrous  con- 
clusion of  this  expedition,  it  contributed 
rather  to  animate  than  to  damp  a  spirit 
of  enterprise  among  the  Spaniards.  They 
had  discovered  an  extensive  country,  situ- 
ated at  no  great  distance  from  Cuba,  fertile 
in  appearance,  and  possessed  by  a  people  far 
superior  in  improvement  to  any  hitherto  known 
in  America.  Though  they  had  carried  on 
little  commercial  intercourse  with  the  natives,  they  had  brought 
off  some  ornaments  of  gold,  not  considerable  in  value,  but  of 
singular  fabric.  These  circumstances,  related  with  the  exaggera- 
tion natural  to  men  desirous  of  heightening  the  merit  of  their 
own  exploits,  were  more  than  sufficient  to  excite  romantic  hopes 
and  expectations.  Great  numbers  offered  to  engage  in  a  new  expe- 
dition. Velasquez,  solicitous  to  distinguish  himself  by  some  serv- 
ice so  meritorious,  as  might  entitle  him  to  claim  the  government 
of  Cuba  independent  of  the  admiral,  not  only  encouraged  their 
ardor,  but,  at  his  own  expense,  fitted  out  four  ships  for  the  voyage. 
Two  hundred  and  forty  volunteers,  among  whom  were  several  per- 
sons of  rank  and  fortune,  embarked  in  this  enterprise.  The  com- 
mand of  it  was  given  to  Juan  de  Grijalva,  a  young  man  of  known 
merit  and  courage,  with  instructions  to  observe  attentively  the 
nature  of  the  countries  which  he  should  discover,  to  barter  for 
gold,  and,  if  circumstances  were  inviting,  to  settle  a  colony  in  some 


(<27) 


42S 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


proper  station.  He  sailed  from  St.  Jago  de  Cuba  on  the  Sth  of 
April,  1518.  The  pilot  Alaminos  held  the  same  course  as  in  the 
former  voyage ;  but  the  violence  of  the  currents  carrying  the  ships 
to  the  south,  the  first  land  which  they  made  was  the  island  of 
Cozumel,  to  the  east  of  Yucatan.  As  all  the  inhabitants  fled  to 
the  woods  and  mountains  at  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards,  they 
made  no  long  stay  there,  and  without  any  remarkable  occurrence 
they  reached  Potonchan  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Peninsula. 
The  desire  of  avenging  their  countrymen  who  had  been  slain  there, 
concurred  with  their  ideas  of  good  policy,  in  prompting  them  to 
land,  that  they  might  chastise  the  Indians  of  that  district  with 
such  exemplary  rigor  as    would    strike   terror  into  all  the  people 

around  them.  But  though  they  disembarked 
all  their  troops,  and  carried  ashore  some 
field-pieces,  the  Indians  fought  with  such 
courage,  that  the  Span- 
iards gained  the  victory 
with  difficulty,  and  were 
confirmed  in  their  opin- 
ion that  the  inhabitants 
of  this  country  would 
prove  more  formidable 
enemies  than  any  they 
had  met  with  in  other 
parts  of  America.  From 
Potonchan  they  con- 
tinued their  voyage 
towards  the  west,  keeping  as  near  as  possible  to  the  shore, 
and  casting  anchor  every  evening,  from  dread  of  the  dangerous 
accidents  to  which  they  might  be  exposed  in  an  unknown  sea. 
During  the  day  their  eyes  were  turned  continually  towards  land, 
with  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  wonder  at  the  beauty  of  the  coun- 
try, as  well  as  the  novelty  of  the  objects  which  they  beheld.  Many 
villages  were  scattered  along  the  coast,  in  which  they  could  dis- 
tinguish houses  of  stone  that  appeared  white  and  lofty  at  a  dis- 
tance. In  the  warmth  of  their  admiration,  they  fancied  these  to 
be  cities  adorned  with  towers  and  pinnacles ;  and  one  of  the  sol- 
diers happening  to  remark  that  this  country  resembled  Spain  in 
appearance,  Grijalva,  with  universal  applause,  called  it  New  Spain, 


INTERIOR    OR    FACADE    OF    THE    PALACE    AT    PALENQUE. 


AZTEC   PRIESTS  OFFERING  UP  A  LIVING   HUMAN   HEART  TO    THEIR   DEITY,  THE  GREAT   LUMINARY  OF  THE  HEAVENS. 

REDRAWN  FROM  DATA  OBTAINED  FROM  ClAVIGERO,  AND  THE  RAMIREZ  MS8. 

(4*9) 


430  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

the  name  which  distinguished  this  extensive  and  opulent  province  of 
the  Spanish  empire  until  very  recently.  They  landed  in  a  river 
which  the  natives  called  Tabasco  [June  9] ;  and  the  fame  of  their 
victory  at  Potonchau  having  reached  this  place,  the  cacique  not 
only  received  them  amicably,  but  bestowed  presents  upon  them  of 
such  value,  as  confirmed  the  high  ideas  which  the  Spaniards  had 
formed  with  respect  to  the  wealth  and  fertility  of  the  country. 
These  ideas  were  raised  still  higher  by  what  occurred  at  the  place 
where  they  next  touched.  This  was  considerably  to  the  west  of 
Tabasco,  in  the  province  since  known  by  the  name  of  Guaxaca. 
There  they  were  received  with  the  respect  paid  to  superior  beings. 
The  people  perfumed  them,  as  they  landed,  with  incense  of  gum 
copal,  and  presented  to  them  as  offerings  the  choicest  delicacies  of 
their  country.  They  were  extremely  fond  of  trading  with  their 
new  visitants,  and  in  six  days  the  Spaniards  obtained  ornaments 
of  gold  of  curious  workmanship,  to  the  value  of  fifteen  thousand 
pesos,  in  exchange  for  European  toys  of  small  price.  The  two 
prisoners  whom  Cordova  had  brought  from  Yucatan  had  hitherto 
served  as  interpreters  ;  but  as  they  did  not  understand  the  lan- 
guage of  this  country,  the  Spaniards  learned  from  the  natives  by 
signs,  that  they  were  subjects  of  a  great  monarch  called  Montezuma, 
whose  dominion  extended  over  that  and  many  other  provinces. 
Leaving  this  place,  with  which  he  had  so  much  reason  to  be  pleased, 
Grijalva  continued  his  course  towards  the  west.  He  landed  on  a 
small  island  [June  19],  which  he  named  the  Isle  of  Sacrifices,  be- 
cause there  the  Spaniards  beheld,  for  the  first  time,  the  horrid 
spectacle  of  human  victims,  which  the  barbarous  superstition  of 
the  natives  offered  to  their  gods.  He  touched  at  another  small 
island,  which  he  called  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  From  this  place  he 
despatched  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  one  of  his  officers,  to  Velasquez, 
with  a  full  account  of  the  important  discoveries  which  he  had 
made,  and  with  all  the  treasure  that  he  acquired  by  trafficking  with 
the  natives.  After  the  departure  of  Alvarado,  he  himself,  with  the 
remaining  vessels,  proceeded  along  the  coast  as  far  as  the  river 
Panuco,  the  country  still  appearing  to  be  well  peopled,  fertile,  and 
opulent. 

Several  of  Grijalva's  officers  contended  that  it  was  not  enough 
to  have  discovered  those  delightful  regions,  or  to  have  performed, 
at   their   different   landing-places,    the    empty  ceremony  of  taking 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


431 


possession  of  them  for  the  crown  of  Castile,  and  that  their  glory 
was  incomplete  unless  they  planted  a  colony  in  some  proper  sta- 
tion, which  might  not  only  secure  the  Spanish  nation  a  footing 
in  the  country,  but,  with  the  reinforcements  which  they  were  cer- 
tain of  receiving,  might  gradually  subject  fhe  whole  to  the  domin- 
ion of  their  sovereign.  But  the  squadron  had  now  been  above 
five  months  at  sea;  the  greatest 
part  of  their  provisions  was  ex- 
hausted, and  what  remained  of 
their  stores  so  much  corrupted  by 
the  heat  of  the  climate,  as  to  be 
almost  unfit  for  use  ;  they  had  lost 
some  men  by  death  ;  others  were 
sickly  ;  the  country  was  crowded 
with  people  who  seemed  to  be 
intelligent  as  well  as  brave;  and 
they  were  under  the  government 
of  one  powerful  monarch,  who 
could  bring  them  to  act  against 
their  invaders  with  united  force. 
To  plant  a  colony  under  so  many 
circumstances  of  disadvantage, 
appeared  a  scheme  too  perilous  to 
be  attempted.  Grijalva,  though 
possessed  of  both  ambition  and 
courage,  was  destitute  of  the  supe- 
rior talents  capable  of  forming  or 
executing  such  a  great  plan.  He 
judged  it  more  prudent  to  return 
to  Cuba,  having  fulfilled  the  pur- 
pose of  his  voyage,  and  accomp- 
lished all  that  the  armament  which  he  commanded  enabled  him  to 
perform.  He  returned  to  St.  Jago  de  Cuba,  on  the  26th  of  Octo- 
ber, from  which  he  had  taken  his  departure  about  six  months 
before. 

This  was  the  longest  as  well  as  the  most  successful  voyage 
which  the  Spaniards  had  hitherto  made  in  the  New  World.  They 
had  discovered  that  Yucatan  was  not  an  island,  as  they  had  sup- 
posed, but  part  of  the  great  continent  of  America.     From  Poton- 


THE  HOUSE   OF  THE  DWARFS  AT  UXMAL. 


432  THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 

chan  they  had  pursued  their  course  for  many  hundred  miles  along 
a  coast  formerly  unexplored,  stretching  at  first  towards  the  west, 
and  then  turning  to  the  north;  all  the  country  which  they  had 
discovered  appeared  to  be  no  less  valuable  than  extensive.  As  soon 
as  Alvarado  reached  Cuba,  Velasquez,  transported  with  success  so 
far  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations,  immediately  despatched 
a  person  of  confidence  to  carry  this  important  intelligence  to 
Spain,  to  exhibit  the  rich  productions  of  the  countries  which  had 
been  discovered  by  his  means,  and  to  solicit  such  an  increase  of 
authority  as  might  enable  and  encourage  him  to  attempt  the  con- 
quest of  them.  Without  waiting  for  the  return  of  his  messenger, 
or  for  the  arrival  of  Grijalva,  of  whom  he  was  become  so  jealous 
or  distrustful  that  he  was  resolved  no  longer  to  employ  him,  he 
began  to  prepare  such  a  powerful  armament  as  might  prove  equal 
to  an  enterprise  of  so  much  danger  and  importance. 


ITALIAN   ARMOR  XVI.   CENTURY. 


CHAPTER    L. 


APPOINTMENT    OF    CORTES    AS    COMMANDER    OF  THE    EXPEDITION.     VELASQUEZ    BECOMES 

JEALOUS   OF    HIM   AND    ENDEAVORS  TO    DEPRIVE    HIM    OF 

THE   COMMAND.      (1518.) 


% 


HEN  Grijalva  [15 18]  returned  to 
Cuba,  he  found  the  armament  des- 
tined to  attempt  the  conquest  of 
r~)\  that  rich  country  which  he  had  dis- 
covered almost  complete.  Not  only 
ambition,  but  avarice,  had  urged  Velas- 
quez to  hasten  his  preparations ;  and 
having  such  a  prospect  of  gratifying  both, 
he  had  advanced  considerable  sums  out  of 
his  private  fortune  towards  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  expedition.  At  the  same 
time,  he  exerted  his  influence  as  gov- 
ernor, in  engaging  the  most  distin- 
guished persons  in  the  colony  to  under- 
take the  service.  At  a  time  when  the 
spirit  of  the  Spanish  nation  was  adven- 
turous to  excess,  a  number  of  soldiers,  eager  to  embark  in  any 
daring  enterprise,  soon  appeared.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to 
find  a  person  qualified  to  take  the  command  in  an  expedition 
of  so  much  importance ;  and  the  character  of  Velasquez,  who 
had  the  right  of  nomination,  greatly  increased  the  difficulty  of  the 
choice.  Though  of  most  aspiring  ambition,  and. not  destitute  of 
talents  for  government,  he  possessed  neither  such  courage,  nor  such 
vigor  and  activity  of  mind,  as  to  undertake  in  person  the  conduct 


OONA  MARINA,  INTERPRETER  OF  CORTES. 


(433) 


434  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

of  the  armament  which  he  was  preparing.  In  this  embarrassing  sit- 
uation, he  formed  the  chimerical  scheme,  not  only  of  achieving  great 
exploits  by  a  deputy,  but  of  securing  to  himself  the  gloty  of  con- 
quests which  were  to  be  made  by  another.  In  the  execution  of  this 
plan,  he  fondly  aimed  at  reconciling  contradictions.  He  was  solic- 
itous to  choose  a  commander  of  intrepid  resolution,  and  of  superior 
abilities,  because  he  knew  these  to  be  requisite  in  order  to  ensure 
success ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  from  the  jealousy  natural  to  little 
minds,  he  wished  this  person  to  be  of  a  spirit  so  tame  and  obsequi- 
ous as  to  be  entirely  dependent  on  his  will.  But  when  he  came  to 
apply  those  ideas  in  forming  an  opinion  concerning  the  several  offi- 
cers who  occurred  to  his  thoughts  as  worthy  of  being  intrusted  with 
the  command,  he  soon  perceived  that  it  was  impossible  to  find  such 
incompatible  qualities  united  in  one  character.  Such  as  were  dis- 
tinguished for  courage  and  talents  were  too  high-spirited  to  be  pas- 
sive instruments  in  his  hands.  Those  who  appeared  more  gentle 
and  tractable,  were  destitute  of  capacity,  and  unequal  to  the  charge. 
This  augmented  his  perplexity  and  his  fears.  He  deliberated  long 
and  with  much  solicitude,  and  was  still  wavering  in  his  choice  when 
Amador  de  Lares,  the  royal  treasurer  in  Cuba,  and  Andres  Duero, 
his  own  secretary,  the  two  persons  in  whom  he  chiefly  confided, 
were  encouraged  by  this  irresolution  to  propose  a  new  candidate ; 
and  they  supported  their  recommendation  with  such  assiduit}'  and 
address,  that,  no  less  fatally  for  Velasquez  than  happily  for  their 
country,  it  proved  successful. 

The  man  whom  they  pointed  out  to  him  was  Fernando  Cortes.  He 
was  born  at  Medellin,  a  small  town  in  Estremadura,  in  the  year  1485, 
and  descended  from  a  family  of  noble  blood,  but  of  very  moderate  for- 
tune. Being  originally  destined  by  his  parents  to  the  study  of  law,  as 
the  most  likely  method  of  bettering  his  condition,  he  was  sent  early 
to  the  university  of  Salamanca,  where  he  imbibed  some  tincture  of 
learning.  But  he  was  soon  disgusted  with  an  academic  life,  which  did 
not  suit  his  ardent  and  restless  genius,  and  retired  to  Medellin,  where 
he  gave  himself  up  entirely  to  active  sports  and  martial  exercises.  At 
this  period  of  life  he  was  so  impetuous,  so  overbearing,  and  so  dis- 
sipated, that  his  father  was  glad  to  comply  with  his  inclination,  and 
sent  him  abroad  as  an  adventurer  iu  arms.  There  were  in  that  age 
two  conspicuous  theaters,  on  which  such  of  the  Spanish  youth  as 
courted  military  glory  might  display  their  valor;  one  in  Italy,  under 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


435 


the  command  of  the  Great  Captain ;  the  other  in  the  New  World. 
Cortes  preferred  the  former,  but  was  prevented  by  indisposition 
from  embarking  with  a  reinforcement  of  troops  sent  to  Naples. 
Upon  this  disappointment  he  turned  his  views  towards  America, 
whither  he  was  allured  by  the  prospect  of  the  advantages  which  he 
saight  derive  from  the  patronage  of  Ovando,  the  governor  of  His- 
paniola,  who  was  his  kinsman. 
When  he  landed  at  San  Dom- 
ingo, in  1504,  his  reception  was 
such  as  equaled  his  most  san- 
guine hopes,  and  he  was  em- 
ployed by  the  governor  in  sev- 
eral honorable  and  lucrative 
stations.  These,  however,  did 
not  satisfy  his  ambition ;  and, 
in  the  year  151 1,  he  obtained 
permission  to  accompany  Diego  Velasquez 
in  his  expedition  to  Cuba.  In  this  ser- 
vice he  distinguished  himself  so  much, 
that,  notwithstanding  some  violent  con- 
tests with  Velasquez,  occasioned  by  trivial  events 
unworthy  of  remembrance,  he  was,  at  length, 
taken  into  favor,  and  received  an  ample  conces- 
sion of  lands  and  of  Indians,  the  recompense 
usually  bestowed  upon  adventurers  in  the  New 
World. 

Though  Cortes  had  not  hitherto  acted  in 
high  command,  he  had  displayed  such  qualities 
in  several  scenes  of  difficulty  and  danger,  as 
raised  universal  expectation,  and  turned  the  eyes 
of  his  countrymen  towards  him  as  one  capable 
of  performing  great  things.  The  turbulence  of 
youth,  as  soon  as  he  found  objects  and  occupa- 
tions suited  to  the  ardor  of  his  mind,  gradually  subsided  and  settled 
into  a  habit  of  regular  indefatigable  activity.  The  impetuosity  of 
his  temper,  when  he  came  to  act  with  his  equals,  insensibly  abated, 
by  being  kept  under  restraint,  and  mellowed  into  a  cordial  soldierly 
frankness.  These  qualities  were  accompanied  with  calm  prudence 
in   concerting  his   schemes,  with   persevering  vigor  in   executing 


THE  GATEWAY  OF  THE  ARCHIVES,  UNIVERSITY  OF  SALAMANCA. 


436  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

them,  and  with,  what  is  peculiar  to  superior  genius,  the  art  of  gain- 
ing the  confidence  and  governing  the  minds  of  men.  To  all  which 
were  added  the  inferior  accomplishments  that  strike  the  vulgar,  and 
command  their  respect ;  a  graceful  person,  a  winning  aspect,  extraor- 
dinary address  in  martial  exercises,  and  a  constitution  of  such  vigor 
as  to  be  capable  of  enduring  any  fatigue. 

As  soon  as  Cortes  was  mentioned  to  Velasquez  by  his  two  con- 
fidants, he  flattered  himself  that  he  had,  at  length,  found  what  he 
had  hitherto  sought  in  vain,  a  man  with  talents  for  command,  but 
not  an  object  for  jealousy.  Neither  the  rank  nor  the  fortune  of 
Cortes,  as  he  imagined,  was  such  that  he  could  aspire  at  independ- 
ence. He  had  reason  to  believe,  that,  by  his  own  readiness  to  bury 
ancient  animosities  in  oblivion,  as  well  as  his  liberality  in  confer- 
ring several  recent  favors,  he  had  already  gained  the  good-will  of 
Cortes,  and  hoped,  by  this  new  and  unexpected  mark  of  confidence, 
that  he  might  attach  him  forever  to  his  interest. 

Cortes,  receiving  his  commission  [Oct.  23]  with  the  warmest 
expressions  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  the  governor,  immediately . 
erected  his  standard  before  his  own  house,  appeared  in  a  military 
dress,  and  assumed  all  the  ensigns  of  his  new  dignity.  His  utmost 
influence  and  activity  were  exerted  in  persuading  many  of  his  friends 
to  engage  in  the  service,  and  in  urging  forward  the  preparations  for 
the  voyage.  All  his  own  funds,  together  with  what  money  he  could 
raise  by  mortgaging  his  lands  and  Indians,  were  expended  in  pur- 
chasing military  stores  and  provisions,  or  in  supplying  the  wants 
of  such  of  his  officers  as  were  unable  to  equip  themselves  in  a  man- 
ner suited  to  their  rank.  Inoffensive,  and  even  laudable  as  this  con- 
duct was,  his  disappointed  competitors  were  malicious  enough  to 
give  it  a  turn  to  his  disadvantage.  They  represented  him  as  aim- 
ing already,  with  little  disguise,  at  establishing  an  independent 
authority  over  his  troops,  and  endeavoring  to  secure  their  respect 
or  love  by  his  ostentatious  and  interested  liberality.  They  reminded 
Velasquez  of  his  former  dissensions  with  the  man  in  whom  he  now 
reposed  so  much  confidence,  and  foretold  that  Cortes  would  be  more 
apt  to  avail  himself  of  the  power  which  the  governor  was  inconsid- 
erately putting  in  his  hands,  to  aveuge  past  injuries,  than  to  requite 
recent  obligations.  These  insinuations  made  such  impression  upon 
the  suspicious  mind  of  Velasquez,  that  Cortes  soon  observed  some 
symptoms  of  a  growing  alienation  and  distrust  in  his  behavior,  and 


THE   CONQUEST   OK    MEXICO.  437 

was  advised  by  Lares  and  Duero  to  hasten  his  departure  before 
these  should  become  so  confirmed  as  to  break  out  with  open  vio- 
lence. Fully  sensible  of  this  danger,  he  urged  forward  his  prepa- 
rations with  such  rapidity,  that  he  set  sail  from  St.  Jago  de  Cuba 
on  the  1 8th  of  November;  Velasquez  taking  leave  of  him  with  an 
appearance  of  perfect  friendship  and  confidence,  though  he  had 
secretly  given  it  in  charge  to  some  of  Cortes'  officers,  to  keep  a 
watchful  eye  upon  every  part  of  their  commander's  conduct. 

Cortes  proceeded  to  Trinidad,  a  small  settlement  on  the  same 
side  of  the  island,  where  he  was  joined  by  several  adventurers,  and 
received  a  supply  of  provisions  and  military  stores,  of  which  his 
stock  was  still  very  incomplete.      He  had  hardly  left  St.  Jago,  when 
the  jealousy  which  had  been  working  in  the  breast  of  Velasquez 
grew  so  violent,  that  it  was  impossible  to  suppress  it. 
The  armament    was  no    longer  under  his  own  eye 
and  direction  ;  and  he  felt  that  as  his  power  over  it 
ceased,  that  of  Cortes  would  become  more  absolute. 
Imagination    now    aggravated    every    circumstance 
which  had  formerly  excited  suspicion  :  the  rivals  of 
Cortes  industriously  threw  in  reflections  which  in- 
creased his  fear ;  and,  with  no  less  art  than  malice, 
they  called  superstition  to  their  aid,  employing  the 
predictions  of  an   astrologer   in   order   to  complete 
the'  alarm.     All    these,   by  their    united    operation, 
produced    the  desired    effect.       Velasquez    repented 

bitterly    of  his    own    imprudence,  in    having    com-  eve  of  his  departure. 

mitted  a  trust  of  so  much  importance  to  a  person  whose  fidelity 
appeared  so  doubtful,  and  hastily  despatched  instructions  to  Trini- 
dad, empowering  Verdugo,  the  chief  magistrate  there,  to  deprive 
Cortes  of  his  commission.  But  Cortes  had  already  made  such 
progress  in  gaining  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  troops,  that, 
finding  officers  as  well  as  soldiers  equally  zealous  to  support  his 
authority,  he  soothed  or  intimidated  Verdugo,  and  was  permitted 
to  depart  from  Trinidad  without  molestation. 

From  Trinidad  Cortes  sailed  for  the  Havana,  in  order  to  raise 
more  soldiers,  and  to  complete  the  victualing  of  his  fleet.  There 
several  persons  of  distinction  entered  into  the  service,  and  engaged 
to  supply  what  provisions  were  still  wanting ;  but,  as  it  was  neces- 
sary to  allow  them  some  time  for  performing  what  they  had  prom- 


VELASQUEZ  GIVES  HIS  LAST  ORDERS  TO  CORTES  ON  THE 


43^  THE   CONQUEST    OF  MEXICO. 

ised,  Velasquez,  sensible  that  he  ought  no  longer  to  rely  on  a  man 
of  whom  he  had  so  openly  discovered  his  distrust,  availed  himself 
of  the  interval  which  this  unavoidable  delay  afforded,  in  order  to 
make  one  attempt  more  to  wrest  the  command  out  of  the  hands  of 
Cortes.  He  loudly  complained  of  Verdugo's  conduct,  accusing  him 
either  of  childish  facility,  or  of  manifest  treachery,  in  suffering 
Cortes  to  escape  from  Trinidad.  Anxious  to  guard  against  a  sec- 
ond disappointment,  he  sent  a  person  of  confidence  to  the  Havana, 
with  peremptory  injunctions  to  Pedro  Barba,  his  lieutenant-governor 
in  that  colony,  instantly  to  arrest  Cortes,  to  send  him  prisoner  to 
St.  Jago  under  a  strong  guard,  and  to  countermand  the  sailing  of 
the  armament  until  he  should  receive  further  orders.  He  wrote, 
likewise,  to  the  principal  officers,  requiring  them  to  assist  Barba  in 
executing  what  he  had  given  him  in  charge.  But  before  the  arrival 
of  this  messenger,  a  Franciscan  friar  of  St.  Jago  had  secretly  con- 
veyed an  account  of  this  interesting  transaction  to  Bartholomew  de 
Olmedo,  a  monk  of  the  same  order,  who  acted  as  chaplain  to  the 
expedition. 

Cortes,  forewarned  of  the  danger,  had  time  to  take  precautions 
for  his  own  safety.  His  first  step  was  to  find  some  pretext  for  re- 
moving from  the  Havana  Diego  de  Ordaz,  an  officer  of  great  merit, 
but  in  whom,  on  account  of  his  known  attachment  to  Velasquez, 
he  could  not  confide  in  this  trying  and  delicate  juncture.  He  gave 
him  the  command  of  a  vessel,  destined  to  take  on  board  some  pro- 
visions in  a  small  harbor  beyond  Cape  Antonio,  and  thus  made  sure 
of  his  absence  without  seeming  to  suspect  his  fidelity.  When  he 
was  gone,  Cortes  no  longer  concealed  the  intentions  of  Velasquez 
from  his  troops;  and  as  officers  and  soldiers  were  equally  impatient 
to  set  out  on  an  expedition,  in  preparing  for  which  most  of  them 
had  expended  all  their  fortunes,  they  expressed  their  astonishment 
and  indignation  at  the  illiberal  jealousy  to  which  the  governor 
was  about  to  sacrifice,  not  only  the  honor  of  their  general,  but  all 
their  sanguine  hopes  of  glory  and  wealth.  With  one  voice  they 
entreated  that  he  would  not  abandon  the  important  station  to  which 
he  had  such  a  good  title.  They  conjured  him  not  to  deprive  them 
of  a  leader  whom  they  followed  with  such  well-founded  confidence, 
and  offered  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  in  maintaining  his 
authority.  Cortes  was  easily  induced  to  comply  with  what  he  him- 
self   so   ardently  desired.      He   swore   that  he  would  never  desert 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


439 


soldiers  who  had  given  him  such  a  signal  proof  of  their  attach- 
ment, and  promised  instantly  to  conduct  them  to  that  rich  country, 
which  had  been  so  long  the  object  of  their  thoughts  and  wishes. 
This  declaration  was  received  with  transports  of  military  applause, 
accompanied  with  threats  and  imprecations  against  all  who  should 
presume  to  call  in  question  the  jurisdiction  of  their  general,  or  to 
obstruct  the  execution  of  his  designs. 

Bvery  thing  was  now  ready  for  their  departure ;  but  though 
this  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  the  united  effort  of  the  Spanish 
power  in  Cuba ;  though  every  settlement  had  contributed  its  quota 
of  men  and  provisions;  though  the  governor  had  laid  out  consider- 
able sums,  and  each  adventurer  had  exhausted  his  stock,  or  strained 
his  credit,  the  poverty  of  the  preparation  was  such  as  must  astonish 
the  present  age,  and  bore,  indeed,  no  resemblance  to  an  armament 
destined  for  the  conquest  of  a  great  empire.  The  fleet  consisted 
of  eleven  vessels;  the  largest  of  a  hundred  tons,  which  was  digni- 
fied by  the  name  of  Admiral ;  three  of  seventy  or  eighty  tons,  and 
the'  rest  small  open  barks.  On  board  of  these  were  six  hundred 
and  seventeen  men ;  of  which  five  hundred  and  eight  belonged  to 
the  land-service,  and  a  hundred  and  nine  were  seamen  or  artificers. 
The  soldiers  were  divided  into  eleven  companies,  according  to  the 
number  of  the  ships,  to  each  of  which  Cortes  appointed  a  captain, 
and  committed  to  him  the  command  of  the  vessel  while  at  sea,  and 
of  the  men  when  on  shore.  As  the  use  of  fire  arms  among  the 
nations  of  Europe  was  hitherto  confined  to  a  few  battalions  of  reg- 
ularly disciplined  infantry,  only  thirteen  soldiers  were  armed  with 
muskets,  thirty-two  were  cross-bow  men,  and  the  rest  had  swords 
and  spears.  Instea'd  of  the  usual  defensive  armor,  which  must  have 
been  cumbersome  in  a  hot  climate,  most  of  the  soldiers  wore  jackets 
quilted  with  cotton,  which  experience  had  taught  the  Spaniards  to 
be  a  sufficient  protection  against  the  weapons  of  the  Americans. 
They  had  only  sixteen  horses,  ten  small  field-pieces,  and  four 
falconets. 


25 


CHAPTER   LI. 


DEPARTURE    FROM    CUBA   AND   LANDING   AT  TABASCO.      FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH   THE    MEXICANS 
AND    NEGOTIATIONS  WITH     MONTEZUMA.     (1519.) 


ITH  this  slender  and  ill-provided  train 
did  Cortes  set  sail  [Feb.  10,  15 19],  to 
make  war  upon  a  monarch  whose  do- 
minions were  more  extensive  than  all 
the  kingdoms  subject  to  the  Spanish 
crown.  As  religious  enthusiasm  always 
miqgled  with  the  spirit  of  adventure  in 
•*  the  New  World,  and,  by  a  combination  still  more 
strange,  united  with  avarice,  in  prompting  the  Spaniards  to  all 
their  enterprises,  a  large  cross  was  displayed  in  their  standards, 
with  this  inscription,  Let  us  follow  the  cross,  for  under  this  sign 
we  shall  conquer. 

So  powerfully  were  Cortes  and  his  followers  animated  with 
both  these  passions,  that  no  less  eager  to  plunder  the  opulent 
country  whither  they  were  bound,  than  zealous 
to  propagate  the  Christian  faith  among  its  inhab- 
itants, they  set  out,  not  with  the  solicitude  nat- 
ural to  men  going  upon  dangerous  services,  but 
with  that  confidence  which  arises  from  security 
of  success,  and  certainty  of  the  divine  protec- 
tion. 

As  Cortes  had  determined  to  touch  at  every 
place  where  Grijalva  had  visited,  he  steered  direct- 
ly towards  the  island  of  Cozumel ;  there  he  had  the 
good   fortune    to    redeem  Jerome    de    Aguilar,  a 


THE   FLAG  UNDER  WHICH    CORTES  FOUGHT. 
PRESERVED  IN   THE  HOSPITAL  OF  JESUS.  CITY  OF  MEXICO. 
Cl4°) 


(-141) 


THE   CONQUEST   OK    MEXICO.  443 

Spaniard,  who  had  been  eight  years  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians. 
This  man  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  a  dialect  of  their  language 
understood  through  a  large  extent  of  country,  and,  possessing 
besides  a  considerable  share  of  prudence  and  sagacity,  proved  ex- 
tremely useful  as  an  interpreter.  From  Cozumel,  Cortes  proceeded 
to  the  river  of  Tabasco  [March  4],  in  hopes  of  a  reception  as  friendly 
as  Grijalva  had  met  with  there,  and  of  finding  gold  in  the  same 
abundance ;  but  the  disposition  of  the  natives,  from  some  unknown 
cause,  was  totally  changed.  After  repeated  endeavors  to  conciliate 
their  good-will,  he  was  constrained  to  have  recourse  to  violence. 
Though  the  forces  of  the  enemy  were  numerous,  and  advanced  with 
extraordinary  courage,  they  were  routed,  with  great  slaughter,  in 
several  successive  actions.  The  loss  which  they  sustained,  and 
still  more  the  astonishment  and  terror  excited  by  the  destructive 
effect  of  the  fire  arms,  and  the  dreadful  appearance  of  the  horses, 
humbled  their  fierce  spirits,  and  induced  them  to  sue  for  peace. 
They  acknowledged  the  King  of  Castile  as  their  sovereign,  and 
granted  Cortes  a  supply  of  provisions  with  a  present  of  cotton  gar- 
ments, some  gold,  and  twenty  female  slaves. 

Cortes  continued  his  course  to  the  westward,  keeping  as  near 
the  shore  as  possible,  in  order  to  observe  the  country;  but  could 
discover  no  proper  place  for  landing,  until  he  arrived  at  St.  Juan  d' 
Ulloa.  As  he  entered  this  harbor  [April  2],  a  large  canoe,  full  of 
people,  among  whom  were  two  who  seemed  to  be  persons  of  dis- 
tinction, approached  his  ship,  with  signs  of  peace  and  amity.  They 
came  on  board  without  fear  or  distrust,  and  addressed  him  in  a  most 
respectful  manner,  but  in  a  language  altogether  unknown  to 
Aguilar.  Cortes  was  in  the  utmost  perplexity  and  distress  at  an 
event  of  which  he  instantly  foresaw  all  the  consequences,  and  already 
felt  the  hesitation  and  uncertainty  with  which  he  should  carry  on 
the  great  schemes  which  he  meditated,  if,  in  his  transactions  with 
the  natives,  he  must  depend  entirely  upon  such  an  imperfect,  am- 
biguous, and  conjectural  mode  of  communication  as  the  use  of  signs. 
But  he  did  not  remain  long  in  his  embarrassing  situation ;  a  fortu- 
nate accident  extricated  him,  when  his  own  sagacity  could  have  con- 
tributed little  towards  his  relief.  One  of  the  female  slaves,  whom 
he  had  received  from  the  cacique  of  Tabasco,  happened  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  first  interview  between  Cortes  and  his  new  guests.  She 
perceived  his  distress,  as  well  as  the  confusion  of  Aguilar  ;  and,  as 


444 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


she  perfectly  understood  the  Mexican  language,  she  explained  what 
they  said  in  the  Yucatan  tongue,  with  which  Aguilar  was  acquainted. 
This  woman,  known  afterwards  by  the  name  of  Dona  Marina,  and 
who  makes  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  history  of  the  New  World, 
where  great  revolutions  were  brought  about  by  small  causes  and 
inconsiderable  instruments,  was  born  in  one  of  the  provinces  of  the 

Mexican  Empire. 
Having  been  sold  as  a 
slave  in  the  early  part 
of  her  life,  after  a 
variety  of  adventures 
she  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Tabascans,  and 
had  resided  long 
enough  among  them 
to  acquire  their  lan- 
guage, without  losing 
the  use  of  her  own. 
Though  it  was  both 
tedious  and  trouble- 
some to  converse  by 
the  intervention  of 
two  different  inter- 
preters, Cortes  was  so 
highly  pleased  with 
having  discovered  this 
method  of  carrying  on 
some  intercourse  with 
the  people  of  a  coun- 
try into  which  he  was 
determined  to  pene- 
trate, that  in  the  trans- 
ports of  his  joy  he  con- 
sidered it  as  a  visible 
interposition  of  Provi- 
dence in  his  favor. 

He  now  learned  that 
the  two  persons  whom 
he    had    received    on 

A  MODERN    TOLTEC  (YUCATAN'  MAIDEN. 
To  shmu    Indian  tyfe  an,/  dress  of  the  time  of th,  ta,"  which    iijcred  very  little  from 

that  of  the  present  age. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


445 


board  of  his  ship  were  deputies  from  Teutile  and  Pilpatoe,  two 
officers  intrusted  with  the  government  of  that  province  by  a  great 
monarch  whom  they  called  Montezuma  ;  and  that  they  were  sent  to 
inquire  what  his  intentions  were  in  visiting  their  coast,  and  to 
offer  him  what  assistance  he  might  need,  in  order  to  continue  his 
voyage.  Cortes,  struck  with  the  appearance  of  those  people,  as 
well  as  the  tenor  of  the  message,  assured  them,  in  respectful 
terms,  that  he  approached  their  country  with  most  friendly  senti- 
ments, and  came  to  propose  matters  of  great  importance  to  the 
welfare  of  their  prince  and  his  kingdom,  which  he  would  unfold 
more  fully,  in  person,  to  the  governor  and  the  general.  Next 
morning,  without  waiting  for  any  answer,  he  landed  his  troops, 
his  horses,  and  artillery;  and,  having  chosen  proper  ground,  began 
to  erect  huts  for  his  men,  and  rA  -w^  _      ^ 

to  fortify  his  camp.  The  na- 
tives, instead  of  opposing  the 
entrance  of  those  fatal  guests 
into  their  country,  assisted 
them  in  all  their  operations 
with  an  alacrity  of  which  they 
had,  ere  long,  good  reason  to 
repent. 

Next  day  Teutile  and 
Pilpatoe  entered  the  Spanish 
camp  with  a  numerous  reti- 
nue ;  and  Cortes,  considering  them  as  the  ministers  of  a  great 
monarch,  entitled  to  a  degree  of  attention  very  different  from  that 
which  the  Spaniards  were  accustomed  to  pay  to  the  petty  caciques, 
with  whom  they  had  intercourse  in  the  isles,  received  them 
with  much  formal  ceremony.  He  informed  them,  that  he  came  a£ 
ambassador  from  Don  Carlos  of  Austria,  king  of  Castile,  the  great- 
est monarch  of  the  East,  and  was  intrusted  with  propositions  of 
such  moment,  that  he  could  impart  them  to  none  but  the  emperor 
Montezuma  himself,  and,  therefore,  required  them  to  conduct  him, 
without  loss  of  time,  into  the  presence  of  their  master.  The  Mex- 
ican officers  could  not  conceal  their  uneasiness  at  a  request,  which 
they  knew  would  be  disagreeable,  and  which  they  foresaw  might 
prove  extremely  embarrassing  to  their  sovereign,  whose  mind  had 
been   filled    with   many  disquieting  apprehensions  ever   since  the 


THE    SPANISH     CAMP    AT    SAN    JUAN     D'     ULLOA. 


446 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


wmmmmm^M 


A    PAGE    FROM  THE   MAYA    MANUSCRIPT    PRESERVED    IN    THE 
ROYAL    LIBRARY,    DRESDEN 

TWO-THIRDS   ORIGINAL   SIZE. 

Only  three  or  four  MSS.  are  known  to  be  in 
existence,  the  one  in  Dresden  being  considered 
the  finest.  They  are  written  on  sheets  pre- 
pared from  the  fibres  of  the  Mexican  Agave, 
and  coated  with  a  layer  of  gypsum.  None  of 
the  Maya  writings  have  as  yet  been  deci- 
phered. They  were  only  understood  by  their 
priests  (Ahkin)  and  a  few  initiates  from  the 
upper  classes. 


former  appearance  of  the  Spaniards  on  his  coasts.  But,  before  they 
attempted  to  dissuade  Cortes  from  insisting  on  his  demand,  they 
endeavored  to  conciliate  his  good-will  by  entreating  him  to  accept 
of  certain  presents,  which,  as  humble  slaves  of  Montezuma,  they 
laid  at  his  feet.  They  were  introduced  with  great 
parade,  and  consisted  of  fine  cotton  cloth,  of  plumes 
of  various  colors,  and  of  ornaments  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver, to  a  considerable  value,  the  workmanship  of 
which  appeared  to  be  as  curious  as  the  materials 
were  rich.  The  display  of  these  produced  an  effect" 
very  different  from  what  the  Mexicans  intended. 
Instead  of  satisfying,  it  increased  the  avidity  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  rendered  them  so  eager  and  impa- 
tient to  become  masters  of  a  country  which  abounded 
with  such  precious  productions,  that  Cortes  could 
hardly  listen  with  patience  to  the  arguments  which 
Pilpatoe  and  Teutile  employed  to  dissuade  him  from 
visiting  the  capital,  and,  in  a  haughty,  determined 
tone,  he  insisted  on  his  demand,  of  being  admitted 
to  a  personal  audience  of  their  sovereign.  During 
this  interview,  some  painters,  in  the  train  of  the 
Mexican  chiefs,  had  been  diligently  employed  in 
delineating,  upon  white  cotton  cloths,  figures  of  the 
ships,  the  horses,  the  artillery,  the  soldiers,  and 
whatever  else  attracted  their  eyes  as  singular. 
When  Cortes  observed  this,  and  was  informed  that 
these  pictures  were  to  be  sent  to  Montezuma,  in 
order  to  convey  to  him  a  more  lively  idea  of  the 
strange  and  wonderful  objects  now  presented  to 
their  view,  than  any  words  could  communicate,  he 
resolved  to  render  the  representation  still  more  ani- 
mating and  interesting,  by  exhibiting  such  a  spec- 
tacle, as  might  give  both  them  and  their  monarch  an 
awful  impression  of  the  extraordinary  prowess  of  his 
followers,  and  the  irresistible  force  of  their  arms.  The  trumpets, 
by  his  order,  sounded  an  alarm ;  the  troops,  in  a  moment,  formed 
in  order  of  battle,  the  infantry  performed  such  martial  exercises  as 
were  best  suited  to  display  the  effect  of  their  different  weapons; 
the  horse,  in  various  evolutions,  gave  a  specimen  of  their  agility 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO, 


447 


and  strength ;  the  artillery,  pointed  towards  the  thick  woods  which 
surrounded  the  camp,  were  fired,  and  made  dreadful  havoc  among 
the  trees.  The  Mexicans  looked  on  with  that  silent  amazement 
which  is  natural  when  the  mind  is  struck  with  objects  which  are 
both  awful  and  above  its  comprehension.  But,  at  the  explosion  of 
the  cannon,  many  of  them  fled,  some  fell  to  the  ground,  and  all 
were  so  much  confounded  at  the  sight  of  men  whose  power  so  nearly 
resembled  that  of  the  gods,  that  Cortes  found  it  difficult  to  com- 
pose and  reassure  them.  The  painters  had  now  many  new  objects 
on  which  to  exercise  their  art,  and  they  put  their  fancy  on  the 
stretch  in  order  to  invent  figures  and  symbols  to  represent  the  ex- 
traordinary things  which  they  had  seen. 

Messengers  were  immediately  despatched  to  Montezuma  with 
those  pictures,  and  a  full  account  of  every  thing  that  had  passed 
since  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  by  them  Cortes  sent  a  pres- 
ent of  some  European  curiosities  to  Montezuma,  which,  though  of 
no  great  value,  he  believed  would  be  acceptable  on  account  of  their 
novelty.  The  Mexican  monarchs,  in  order  to  obtain  early  informa- 
tion of  every  occurrence  in  all  the  corners  of  their  extensive  em- 
pire, had  introduced  a  refinement  in  police  unknown  at  that  time 
in  Europe.  They  had  couriers  posted  at  proper  stations  along  the 
principal  roads ;  and  as  these  were  trained  to  agility  by  a  regular 
education,  and  relieved  one  another  at  moderate  distances,  they 
conveyed  intelligence  with  surprising  rapidity.  Though  the  capi- 
tal in  which  Montezuma  resided  was  above  a  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  from  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa,  Cortes'  presents  were  carried  thither, 
and  an  answer  to  his  demands  was  received  in  a  few  days.  The 
same  officers  who  had  hitherto  treated  with  the  Spaniards  were 
employed  to  deliver  this  answer ;  but  as  they  knew  how  repugnant 
the  determination  of  their  master  was  to  all 
the  schemes  and  wishes  of  the  Spanish  com- 
mander, they  would  not  venture  to  make  it 
known  until  they  had  previously  endeav- 
ored to  soothe  and  mollify  him.  For  this 
purpose  they  renewed  their  negotiation, 
by  introducing  a  train  of  a  hundred  In- 
dians loaded  with  presents  sent  to 
him  by  Montezuma.  The  magnificence 
of  these  was  such  as  became  a  great 


HEADS  AND  MASQUES   FOUND  AT  TEOTIMUACAN  (MEXICO1  MADE  FROM  TERRA  COTTA. 


44s 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


"wanting  which  could 
of  what  the  country 


monarch,  and  far  exceeded  any  idea  which  the  Spaniards  had  hith- 
erto formed  of  his  wealth.  They  were  placed  on  mats  spread  on 
the  ground,  in  such  order  as  showed  them  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage. Cortes  and  his  officers  viewed,  with  admiration,  the  various 
manufactures  of  the  country;  cotton  stuffs  so  fine,  and  of  such  deli- 
cate texture  as  to  resemble  silk ;  pictures  of  animals,  trees,  and 
other  natural  objects,  formed  with  feathers  of  different  colors,  dis- 
posed and  mingled  with  such  skill  and  elegance,  as  to  rival  the 
works  of  the  pencil  in  truth  and  beauty  of  imitation.  But  what 
chiefly  attracted  their  eyes,  were  two  large  plates  of  a  circular  form, 
one  of  massive  gold  representing  the  sun,  the  other  of  silver,  an 
emblem  of  the  moon.  These  were  accompanied  with  bracelets, 
collars,  rings,  and  other  trinkets  of  gold,  and,  that  nothing  might  be 

give  the  Spaniards  a  complete  idea 
afforded,  with  some  boxes  filled 
with  pearls,  precious  stones,  and 
grains  of  gold  unwrought,  as 
they  had  been  found  in  the 
mines  or  rivers.  Cortes 
received  all  these  with  an 
I  -  appearance  of  profound 
veneration  for  the  mon- 
"  arch  by  whom  they  were 
bestowed.  But  when  the 
Mexicans,  presuming 
upon  this,  informed  him 
that  their  master,  though  he  desired  him  to  accept  of  what 
he  had  sent  as  a  token  of  regard  for  that  monarch  whom  Cortes 
represented,  would  not  give  his  consent  that  foreign  troops 
should  approach  nearer  to  his  capital,  or  even  allow  them  to  con- 
tinue longer  in  his  dominions,  the  Spanish  general  declared,  in  a 
manner  more  resolute  and  peremptory  than  formerly,  that  he 
must  insist  on  his  first  demand,  as  he  could  not,  without  dishonor, 
return  to  his  own  country,  until  he  was  admitted  into  the  presence 
of  the  prince  whom  he  was  appointed  to  visit  in  the  name  of  his 
sovereign.  The  Mexicans,  astonished  at  seeing  any  man  dare  to 
oppose  that  will,  which  they  were  accustomed  to  consider  as  su- 
preme and  irresistible,  yet  afraid  of  precipitating  their  country 
into  an  open  rupture  with  such  formidable  enemies,  prevailed  with 


ANCIENT    MEXICAN    VASES. 


THE    CONQUEST    OK    MEXICO.  449 

Cortes  to  promise,  that  he  would  not  move  from  his  present  camp 
until  the  return  of  a  messenger  whom  they  sent  to  Montezuma  for 
further  instructions. 

The  firmness  with  which  Cortes  adhered  to  his  original 
proposal,  should,  naturally,  have  brought  the  negotiation  between 
him  and  Montezuma  to  a  speedy  issue,  as  it  seemed  to  leave  the 
Mexican  monarch  110  choice,  but  either  to  receive  him  with  confi- 
dence as  a  friend,  or  to  oppose  him  openly  as  an  enemy.  The  lat- 
ter was  what  might  have  been  expected  from  a  haughty  prince  in 
possession  of  extensive  power.  The  Mexican  empire,  at  this  period, 
was  at  a  pitch  of  grandeur  to  which  no  society  ever  attained  in  so 
short  a  period.  Though  it  had  subsisted,  according  to  their  own 
traditions,  only  a  hundred  and  thirty  years,  its  dominion  extended 
from  the  North  to  the  South  Sea,  over  territories  stretching,  with 
some  small  interruption,  about  five  hundred  leagues  from  east  to 
west,  and  more  than  two  hundred  from  north  to  south,  compre- 
hending provinces  not  inferior  in  fertility,  population,  and  opu- 
lence, to  any  in  the  torrid  zone.  The  people  were  warlike  and  en- 
terprising ;  the  authority  of  the  monarch  unbounded,  and  his  reve- 
nues considerable.  If,  with  the  forces  which  might  have  been 
suddenly  assembled  in  such  an  empire,  Montezuma  had  fallen  upon 
the  Spaniards,  while  encamped  on  a  barren,  unhealtlry  coast,  un- 
supported by  any  ally,  without  a  place  of  retreat,  and  destitute  of 
provisions,  it  seems  to  be  impossible,  even  with  the  advantages 
of  their  superior  discipline  and  arms,  that  thev  could  have  stood 
the  shock,  and  they  must  either  have  perished  in  such  an  unequal 
contest,  or  have  abandoned  the  enterprise. 


I  <  ' 


HELMETS,    INCRUSTED    WITH   TURQUOISES,    IN    THE    HERTZ 

COLLECTION,    PARIS. 

The  bodies  of  the  Mexican  soldiers  were  generally  covered  with  a  close  vest 
of  quilted  cotton,  so  thick  as  to  be  impenetrable  to  the  light  missives  of  Indian 
warfare.  Their  helmets  were  sometimes  of  wood,  plain,  or  incrusted  with 
polished  precious  stones,  fashioned  like  the  heads  of  wild  animals  or  skulls,  etc., 
and  sometimes  of  silver. — From  M.  Brasscur  de  Bourbottrg's  Palenqne. 


CHAPTER   LII. 


MONTEZUMA'S    PERPLEXITY   AND   TERROR    UPON    THE  ARRIVAL    OF    THE    SPANIARDS. 
ESTABLISHES  A   CIVIL  GOVERNMENT  AND   IS   CHOSEN    CHIEF  JUSTICE 
AND   CAPTAIN    GENERAL. 


S  the  power  of  Montezuma  enabled 
him  to  take  this  spirited  part, 
his  own  dispositions  were 
such  as  seemed  natural- 
ly to  prompt  him  to  it. 
Of  all  the  princes  who 
had  swayed  the  Mexican 
sceptre,  he  was  the 
most  haughty,  the  most 
violent,  and  the  most 
impatient  of  control. 
His  subjects  looked  up 
to  him  with  awe,  and 
his  enemies  with  ter- 
ror. The  former  he 
governed  with  unex- 
ampled rigor;  but 
they  were  im- 
pressed with 
such  an  opin- 
ion of  his  ca- 
pacity as  com- 
manded their  respect ;  and,  by  many  victories  over  the  latter, 
he  had  spread  far  the  dread  of  his  arms,  and  had  added 
several  considerable   provinces  to  his  dominions.     But  though  his 


MOCTETZOUMA    XOCOTZIN, 

COMMONLY     KNOWN     BY    THE    NAME    OF    MONTEZUMA 
FROM    A    PAINTING    EXECUTED    BY   ORDER    OF   CORTES. 


f4.TO> 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


45 1 


talents  might  be  suited  to  the  transactions  of  a  state  so  imperfectly 
polished  as  the  Mexican  empire,  and  sufficient  to  conduct  them 
while  in  their  accustomed  course,  they  were  altogether  inadequate 
to  a  conjuncture  so  extraordinary,  and  did  not  qualify  him  either 
to  judge  with  the  discernment  or  to  act  with  the  decision  requisite 
in  such  a  trying  emergency. 

From  the   moment  that  the  Spaniards  appeared  on  his  coast, 
he  discovered  symptoms  of  timidity  and  embarrassment.     Instead 
of  taking  such  resolutions  as  the  consciousness  of  his  own  power, 
or  the  memory  of  his  former  exploits,  might  have  inspired,  he  de- 
liberated with  an  anxiety  and  hesitation  which  did  not  escape  the 
notice  of  his  meanest  courtiers.     The  perplexity  and  discomposure 
of  Montezuma's   mind   upou  this  occasion,  as  well  as  the  general 
dismay  of  his  subjects,  were  not   owing  wholly  to  the  impression 
which  the  Spaniards  had  made  by  the  novelty  of  their  appearance 
and  the    terror   of  their  arms.       Its  origin  may  be  traced  up  to  a 
more  remote  source.     There  was  an  opinion,  if  we  may  believe  the 
earliest  and   most    authentic   Spanish  historians,  almost  universal 
among  the  Americans,  that  some  dreadful  calamity  was  impending 
over  their  heads,  from  a  race  of  formidable  invaders,  who  should 
come  from  regions  towards  the  rising  sun,  to  overrun  and  desolate 
their  country.     Whether  this  disquieting  apprehension  flowed  from 
the  memory  of  some  natural  calamity  which  had  afflicted  that  part 
of   the  globe,    and   impressed   the   minds  of  the  inhabitants  with 
superstitious  fears  and  forebodings,  or  whether  it  was    an 
imagination  accidentally  suggested  by  the  astonishment 
which  the  first  sight  of  a  new  race  of  men  occasioned, 
it  is  impossible  to   determine.       But  as  the  Mexicans 
were  more  prone  to  superstition  than  an}^  people  in  the 
New  World,  they  were  more  deeply  affected  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Spaniards,  whom  their  credulity  instant- 
ly represented  as  the  instrument  destined  to  bring  about  this 
fatal  revolution  which  they  dreaded.      Under  those  circum- 
stances, it  ceases  to  be  incredible  that  a  handful  of  adven- 
turers should  alarm  the  monarch  of  a  great  empire,  and  all 
his  subjects. 

Notwithstanding  the  influence  of  this  impres- 
sion, when  the  messenger  arrived  from  the  Spanish 
camp  with  an  account  that  the  leader  of  the  stran- 

KNEELING    IDOL. 
FROM    A     LACONOAN    TEMPLE. 


452 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


THE  TEMALACATL  OR  GLADIATORIAL  STONE,  AFTER  THE  RAMIREZ  MSS. 

CAPTIVE  FETTERED  TO  THE  STONE,   FIGHTING  WITH   A  TIGER  KNIGHT.      ON  AN 

ELEVATED  THRONE  SITS  THE  MITRED  EMPEROR  GIVING  ORDERS. 


gers,  adhering  to  his  original  demand, 
refused  to  obey  the  order  enjoining  him 
to  leave  the  country,  Montezuma  as- 
sumed some  degree  of  resolution ;  and, 
in  a  transport  of  rage  natural  to  a 
fierce  prince,  unaccustomed  to  meet  with 
any  opposition  to  his  will,  he  threatened 
to  sacrifice  those  presumptuous  men  to 
his  gods.  But  his  doubts  and  fears 
quickly  returned,  and,  instead  of  issuing 
orders  to  carry  his  threats  into  execu- 
tion, he  again  called  his  ministers  to 
confer  and  offer  their  advice.  Feeble  and  temporizing  measures 
will   always  be  the  result  when   men  assemble  to  deliberate   in   a 

situation  where  they  ought 
to  act.  The  Mexican  coun- 
sellors took  no  effective 
measure  for  expelling  such 
troublesome  intruders,  and 
were  satisfied  with  issuing  a 
more  positive  injunction,  re- 
quiring them  to  leave  the 
country ;  but  this  they  pre- 
posterously  accompanied 
with  a  present  of  such  value 
as  proved  a  fresh  inducement 
to  remain  there. 

Meanwhile,  the  Spaniards 
were  not  without  solicitude, 
or  a  variety  of  sentiments, 
in  deliberating  concerning 
their  own  future  conduct. 
From  what  they  had  already 
seen,  many  of  them  formed 
such  extravagant  ideas  con- 
cerning the  opulence  of  the 
country,  that,  despising  dan- 
ger or  hardships  when  they 
had  in  view  treasures  which 


MEXICAN    CALENDAR    STONE. 
PRESERVED    IN    THE    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,    MEXICO. 


This  remarkable  piece  of  sculpture  consists  of  dark  porphyry,  and,  in  its  original 
dimensions,  as  taken  from  the  quarry,  is  computed  to  have  weighed  nearly  fifty  tons. 
It  was  transported  from  the  mountain  of  Chalco,  a  distance  of  many  leagues,  over  a 
broken  country  intersected  by  water-courses  and  canals.  In  crossing  a  bridge  which 
traversed  one  of  these  latter  in  the  capital,  the  supports  gave  way,  and  the  huge  mass 
was  precipitated  into  the  water,  whence  it  was  with  difficulty  recovered.  The  fact 
that  so  enormous  a  fragment  of  porphyry  could  be  thus  safely  carried  for  leagues,  in 
the  face  of  such  obstacles,  and  without  the  aid  of  cattle, — for  the  Aztecs  had  no  animals 
of  draught, — suggests  to  us  no  mean  ideas  of  their  mechanical  skill,  and  of  their  machin- 
ery; and  implies  a  degree  of  cultivation,  little  inferior  to  that  demanded  for  the  geo- 
metrical and  astronomical  science  displayed  in  the  inscriptions  on  this  very  stone.  The 
face  of  this  dial  shows  that  they  had  the  means  of  setting  the  hours  of  the  day  with 
precision,  the  periods  of  the  solstices  and  of  the  equinoxes,  and  that  of  the  transit  of  the 
sun  across  the  zenith  of  Mexico. — Prcsiott,  Conqtn'st,  Vol.   J  p.  /3J,  14s. 


(453) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  455 

appeared  to  be  inexhaustible,  they  were  eager  to  attempt  the 
conquest.  Others,  estimating  the  power  of.  the  Mexican  empire  by 
its  wealth,  and  enumerating  the  various  proofs  which  had  occurred 
of  its  being  under  a  well-regulated  administration,  contended,  that 
it  would  be  an  act  of  the  wildest  frenzy  to  attack  such  a  state  with 
a  small  body  of  men,  in  want  of  provisions,  unconnected  with  any 
ally,  and  already  enfeebled  by  the  diseases  peculiar  to  the  climate, 
and  the  loss  of  several  of  their  number.  Cortes  secretly  applauded 
the  advocates  for  bold  measures,  and  cherished  their  romantic 
hopes,  as  such  ideas  corresponded  with  his  own,  and  favored  the 
execution  of  the  schemes  which  he  had  formed.  From  the  time 
that  the  suspicions  of  Valesquez  broke  out  with  open  violence  in 
the  attempts  to  deprive  him  of  the  command,  Cortes  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  dissolving  a  connection  which  would  obstruct  and  embarrass 
all  his  operations,  and  watched  for  a  proper  opportunity  of  coming 
to  a  final  rupture  with  him.     Having  this  in 

view,  he  had  labored  by  every  art  to  secure  the     gagfcR  .-_■'-  -f:'.^,; 
esteem  and  affection  of  his  soldiers.     With  his    :'i£ra|KHl9l 
abilities  for  command,  it  was  easy  to  gain  their     K^l!'*^     "" 
esteem;    and  his  followers   were  quickly  satis-   -lBSjir"wBfe^CKiM&~- 
fied   that    they   might   rely,  with    perfect  confi-    4th-  W3    ■uSMjpJxr**'- 
deuce,  on    the    conduct    and    courage  of  their     :  ^,\  ,-^MBeP^MB 
leader.      Nor  was  it  more  difficult   to  acquire 
their  affection.     Among  the  adventurers,  nearly 
of  the  same  rank,  and  serving  at  their  own  expense,   the  dignity 
of  command  did  not  elevate  a  general  above  mingling  with  those 
who  acted  under  him.     Cortes  availed  himself  of  this  freedom  of 
intercourse,  to  insinuate  himself  into  their  favor,  and  by  his  affable 
manners,  by  well-timed  acts  of  liberality  to  some,  by  inspiring  all 
with  vast  hopes,  and  by  allowing  them  to  trade  privately  with  the 
natives,  he  attached  the  greater  part  of  his  soldiers  so  firmly  to 
himself,  that  they  almost  forgot  that  the  armament  had  been  fitted 
out  by  the  authority,  and  at  the  expense  of  another. 

During  these  intrigues,  Teutile  arrived  with  the  present  from 
Montezuma,  and,  together  with  it,  delivered  the  ultimate  order  of 
that  monarch  to  depart  instantly  out  of  his  dominions ;  and  when 
Cortes,  instead  of  complying,  renewed  his  request  of  an  audience, 
the  Mexican  turned  from  him  abruptly,  and  quitted  the  camp  with 
looks    and    gestures    which   strongly    expressed   his    surprise    and 


TERRA  COTTA  VASES  FOUND  AT  TENENEPANGO,  MEXICO. 


456 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


POTTERY,   WITH    FIGURE  OF  TLALOC. 

The  god  of  rains,  and  giver  of 
harvests,  whose  festival  was 
celebrated  with  that  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
first  month  of  the  Aztec  calen- 
dar (February). 


resentment.  Next  morning,  none  of  the  natives,  who  used  to 
frequent  the  camp  in  great  numbers,  in  order  to  barter  with  the 
soldiers,  and  to  bring  in  provisions,  appeared.  All  friendly  corre- 
spondence seemed  now  to  be  at  an  end,  and  it  was  expected  every 
moment  that  hostilities  would  commence.  This,  though  an  event 
that  might  have  been  foreseen,  occasioned  a  sudden  consternation 
among  the  Spaniards,  which  emboldened  the  adherents  of  Velasquez 
not  onlv  to  murmur  and  cabal  against  their  general,  but  to  appoint 
one  of  their  number  to  remonstrate  openly  against  his  imprudence 
in  attempting  the  conquest  of  a  mighty  empire  with  such  inade- 
quate force,  and  to  urge  the  necessity  of  returning  to  Cuba,  in  order 
to  refit  the  fleet  and  augment  the  army.  Diego  de  Ordaz,  one  of 
his  principal  officers,  whom  the  malecontents  charged  with  this 
commission,  delivered  it  with  a  soldierly  freedom  and  blunt- 
ness,  assuring  Cortes  that  he  spoke  the  sentiments  of  the 
whole  arm}-.  He  listened  to  this  remonstrance  without  any 
appearance  of  emotion ;  and  as  he  well  knew  the  temper  and 
wishes  of  his  soldiers,  and.  foresaw  how  they  would  receive  a  pro- 
position fatal  at  once  to  all  the  splendid  hopes  and  schemes 
which  they  had  been  forming  with  such  complacency,  he  carried 
his  dissimulation  so  far  as  to  seem  to  relinguish  his  own 
measures  in  compliance  with  the  request  of  Ordaz,  and  issued 
orders  that  the  army  should  be  in  readiness  next  day  to  re- 
embark  for  Cuba.  As  soon  as  this  was  known,  the  disap- 
pointed adventurers  exclaimed  and  threatened ;  the  emissaries 
of  Cortes,  mingling  with  them,  inflamed  their  rage;  the  fer- 
ment became  general ;  the  whole  camp  was  almost  in  open 
mutiny;  all  demanding  with  eagerness  to  see  their  commander.  Cor- 
tes was  not  slow  in  appearing ;  when,  with  one  voice,  officers  and  sol- 
diers expressed  their  astonishment  and  indignation  at  the  orders 
which  the}'  had  received.  It  was  unworthy,  they  cried,  of  the  Cas- 
tilian  courage  to  be  daunted  at  the  first  aspect  of  danger,  and  in- 
famous to  fly  before  an}'  enemy  appeared.  For  their  parts,  they  were 
determined  not  to  relinquish  an  enterprise  that  had  hitherto  been 
successful,  and  which  tended  so  visibly  to  spread  the  knowledge  of 
true  religion,  and  to  advance  the  glory  and  interest  of  their  country. 
Happy  under  his  command,  they  would  follow  him  with  alacrity 
through  every  danger,  in  quest  of  those  settlements  and  treasures 
which  he  had  so  long  held  out  to  their  view ;  but  if  he  chose  rather 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


457 


to  return  to  Cuba,  and  tamely  give  up  all  his  hopes  of  distinction 
and  opulence  to  an  envious  rival,  they  would  instantly  choose  an- 
other general  to  conduct  them  in  that  path  of  glory  which  he  had 
not  spirit  to  enter. 

Cortes,  delighted  with  their  ardor,  took  no  offense  at  the  bold- 
ness with  which  it  was  uttered.  The  sentiments  were  what  he 
himself  had  inspired,  and  the  warmth  of  expression  satisfied  him 
that  his  followers  had  imbibed  them  thoroughly.  He  affected,  how- 
ever, to  be  surprised  at  what  he  heard,  declaring  that  his  orders  to 
prepare  for  embarking  were  issued  from  a  persuasion  that  this  was 
agreeable  to  his  troops ;  that,  from  deference  to  what  he  had  been 
informed  was  their  inclination,  he  had  sacrificed  his  own  private 
opinion,  which  was  firmly  bent  on  establishing  immediately  a  set- 
tlement on  the  sea-coast,  and  then  on  endeavoring  to  penetrate  into 
the  interior  part  of  the  country  ;  that  now  he  was  convinced  of  his 
error ;  and  as  he  perceived  that  they  were  animated  with  the  gen- 
erous spirit  which  breathed  in  every  true  Spaniard,  he  would  re- 
sume, with  fresh  ardor,  his  original  plan  of  operation,  and  doubted 
not  to  conduct  them,  in  the  career  of  victory,  to  such  independent 
fortunes  as  their  valor  merited.  Upon  this  declaration,  shouts  of 
applause  testified  the  excess  of  their  joy.  The  measure  seemed  to 
be  taken  with  unanimous  consent ;  such  as  secretly  condemned  it 
being  obliged  to  join  in  the  acclamations,  partly  to  conceal  their 
disaffection  from  their  general,  and  partly  to  avoid  the  imputation 
of  cowardice  from 
their  fellow-soldiers. 
Without  allowing 
his  men  time  to  cool 
or  to  reflect,  Cortes 
set  about  carrying 
his  design  into  ex- 
ecution. In  order  to 
give  a  beginning  to  a 
colony,  he  assembled 
the  principal  per- 
sons in  his  army,  and, 
by  their  suffrage, 
elected  a  council 
and  magistrates    in 


CORTES    DECLARES,    AMIDST    THE    SHOUTS    OF   APPLAUSE    FROM    HIS    SOLDIERS,    THAT    HE 

VICTORY    AND    FORTUNE. 


ILL   CONDUCT    THEM    TO 


45§ 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


whom  the  government  was  to  be  vested.     As  men  naturalhy  trans- 
plant the  institutions  and  forms  of  the  mother-country  into  their 
new  settlements,  this'was    framed   upon  the  model  of  a   Spanish 
corporation.       The    magistrates   were    distinguished    by  the  same 
names   and  ensigns  of  office,  and  were  to  exercise  a  similar  juris- 
diction.      All   the    persons    chosen    were    most    firmly  devoted    to 
Cortes,   and    the  instrument  of    their  election  was   framed  in  the 
king's   name,  without  any  mention  of  their  dependence  on  Velas- 
quez.     The    two    principles    of    avarice    and    enthusiasm,    which 
prompted  the  Spaniards  to  all  their  enterprises  in  the  New  World, 
seem  to  have  concurred  in  suggesting  the  name  which   Cortes 
bestowed  on  his  infant  settlement.     He  called  it,  Villa  Rica  de 
Vera  Cruz  (The  Rich  Town  of  the  True  Cross). 

The  first  meeting  of  the  new  council  was  distinguished  by  a 
transaction  of  great  moment.  As  soon  as  it  assembled,  Cortes 
applied  for  leave  to  enter;  and  approaching  with  many  marks  of 
profound  respect,  which  added  dignity  to  the  tribunal,  and  set  an 
example  of  reverence  for  its  authority,  he  began  a  long  harangue, 
in  which,  with  much  art,  and  in  terms  extremely  flattering  to 
Suppre«atheairdwondldr,nas  persons  just  entering  upon  their  new  functions,  he  observed, 

they  beheld  the  Cross,  the        -  n  ..-..  -  -  ........ 

sacred  emblem  of  their  own  that,  as   the  supreme    lunsdiction  over   the  colon y  which   they 

faith,  raised  as  an  object  of  L  J  J  J 

Anahhu'LinAhbastcompvuc°f  nad  planted  was  now  vested  in  this  court,  he  considered  them 
fact,  everywhere'^"' In   as  clothed  with   the  authority  and   representing  the  person   of 

their  perplexity,  they 
looked  on  it  as  the  delusion 
of  the  Devil,  who  counter- 
feited the  rites  of  Christi- 
anity and  the  traditions  of 


CROSS    FROM    THE    TEMPLE    OF 
THE    CROSS,    PALENQUE. 


victims  to  their  own  de 
struction. — Prescott,  Con- 
quest.   Vol.  I.        « 


their    sovereign;    that,  accordingly,  he  would    communicate    to 
them  what  he  deemed  essential  to  the   public  safety,  with  the 
migMhaiiunrePM?'wJetached  same  dutiful  fidelity  as  if  he  were  addressing  his  royal  master; 
that  the  security  of  a  colony  settled  in  a  great  empire,  whose 
sovereign    had    already    discovered    his    hostile    intentions,    de- 
pended   upon    arms,    and   the   efficacy   of    these    upon    the    subor- 
dination   and    discipline    preserved    among    the    troops ;    that    his 
right  to    command    was  derived   from    a    commission    granted  by 
the  governor  of  Cuba ;  and  as  that  had  been  long  since  revoked, 
the  lawfulness  of  his  jurisdiction  might  well  be  questioned ;  that 
he  might  be  thought  to  act  upon  a  defective  or  even  a  dubious  title; 
nor  could  they  trust  an  army  which  might  dispute  the  powers  of 
its  general,  at  a  juncture  when  it  ought  implicitly  to  obey  his  or- 
ders ;  that,  moved  by  these  considerations,  he  now  resigned  all  his 
authority   to   them,    that    they,   having  both  right   to  choose,   and 
power  to  confer  full  jurisdiction,  might  appoint  one  in  the  king's 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  459 

name,  to  command  the  army  in  its  future  operations  ;  and  as  for  his 
own  part,  such  was  his  zeal  for  the  service  in  which  they  were  en- 
gaged, that  he  would  most  cheerfully  take  up  a  pike  with  the  same 
hand  that  laid  down  the  general's  truncheon,  and  convince  his 
fellow-soldiers,  that  though  accustomed  to  command,  he  had  not 
forgotten  how  to  obey.  Having  finished  his  discourse,  he  laid  the 
commission  from  Velasquez  upon  the  table,  aud,  after  kissiug  his 
truncheon,  delivered  it  to  the  chief  magistrate,  and  withdrew. 

The  deliberations  of  the  council  were  not  long,  as  Cortes  had 
concerted  this  important  measure  with  his  confidants,  and  had 
prepared  the  other  members,  with  great  address  for  the  part  which 
he  wished  them  to  take.  His  resignation  was  accepted  ;  and  as  the 
uninterrupted  tenor  of  their  prosperity  under  his  conduct  afforded 
the  most  satisfying  evidence  of  his  abilities  for  "command,  they, 
by  their  unanimous  suffrage,  elected  him  chief  justice  of  the  col- 
ony, and  captain-general  of  its  army,  and  appointed  his  commission 
to  be  made  ont  in  the  king's  name,  with  most  ample  powers,  which 
were  to  continue  in  force  until  the  royal  pleasure  should  be  farther 
known.  That  this  deed  might  not  be  deemed  the  machination  of 
a  junto,  the  council  called  together  the  troops,  aud  acquainted 
them  with  what  had  been  resolved.  The  soldiers,  with  eager  ap- 
plause, ratified  the  choice  which  the  council  had  made ;  the  air  re- 
sounded with  the  name  of  Cortes,  and  all  vowed  to  shed  their 
blood  in  support  of  his  authority. 


26 


CHAPTER   LIU. 


CORTES    ASCERTAINS    THAT    THE   YOKE  OF    AZTEC    CONFEDERACY    IS    BORNE    UNWILLINGLY    BY 

MANY  TOWNS  AND   DISTRICTS.      HIS   MARCH   TO   CEMPOALA   AND  TREATY  WITH 

THE  CACIQUE.     DESTRUCTION   OF  THE    FLEET. 


ORTES,  having  now  brought  his  intrigues  to  the 
desired  issue,  and  shaken  off  his  mortifying  de- 
pendence on  the  governor  of  Cuba,  accepted  of  the 
commission,  which  vested  in  him  supreme  jurisdic- 
tion, civil  as  well  as  military,  over  the  colony,  with 
many  professions  of  respect  to  the  council  and  grati- 
tude to  the  army.  Together  with  this  new  command 
he  assumed  greater  dignity,  and  began  to  exercise  more 
extensive  powers.  Formerly  he  had  felt  himself  to  be 
only  the  deputy  of  a  subject ;  now  he  acted  as  the  representative  of 
his  sovereign.  The  adherents  of  Velasquez,  fully  aware  of  what 
would  be  the  effect  of  this  change  in  the  situation  of  Cortes,  could 
no  longer  continue  silent  and  passive  spectators  of  his  actions. 
They  exclaimed  openly  against  the  proceedings  of  the  council  as 
illegal,  and  against  those  of  the  army  as  mutinous.  Cortes,  instantly 
perceiving  the  necessity  of  giving  a  timely  check  to  such  seditious 
discourse  by  some  vigorous  measure,  arrested  Ordaz,  Escudero,  and 
Velasquez  de  Leon,  the  ringleaders  of  this  faction,  and  sent  them 
prisoners  aboard  the  fleet,  loaded  with  chains.  Their  dependents, 
astonished  and  overawed,  remained  quiet ;  and  Cortes,  more  desirous 
to  reclaim  than  to  punish  his  prisoners,  who  were  officers  of  great 
merit,  courted  their  friendship  with  such  assiduity  and  address, 
that  the  reconciliation  was  perfectly  cordial ;  and,  on  the  most  try- 
ing occasions,  neither  their  connection  with  the  governor  of  Cuba, 
nor  the  memory  of  the  indignity  with  which  they  had  been  treated, 


u6o) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


461 


tempted  them  to  swerve  from  an  inviolable  attachment  to  his  inter- 
est. In  this,  as  well  as  his  other  negotiations  at  this  critical  con- 
juncture, which  decided  with  respect  to  his  future  fame  and  fortune, 
Cortes  owed  much  of  his  success  to  the  Mexican  gold,  which  he 
distributed  with  a  liberal  hand  both  among  his  friends  and  his  op- 
ponents. 

Cortes,  having  thus  rendered  the  union  between  himself  and 
his  armv   indissoluble,  by  engaging  it  to  join  him  in  disclaiming 
any  dependence  on  the  governor  of  Cuba,  and  in  repeated  acts  of 
disobedience  to  his  authority,  thought  he  might  now  ven- 
ture to  quit  the  camp  in  which  he  had  hitherto  remained, 
and  advance  into  the  country.     To  this  he  was  encour- 
aged by  an  event    no  less     fortunate   than    seasonable. 
Some  Indians  having  approached  his  camp  in  a  mys- 
terious  manner,    were    introduced    into    his  presence. 
He  found  that  they  were  sent  with  a  proffer  of  friend- 
ship from    the    cacique  of    Cempoala,   a   considerable 
town  at  no  great  distance  ;  and  from  their  answers 
to  a  variety  of  questions  which  he  put  to  them, 
according  to  his  usual    practice  in  every  inter- 
view with  the  people  of  the  country,  he  gathered, 
that  their  master,  though  subject  to  the  Mexican 
empire,  was  impatient    of  the   yoke,    and   filled 
with  such  dread  and  hatred  of  Montezuma,  that 
nothing  could  be  more  acceptable  to  him  than 
any  prospect  of  deliverance  from  the  oppression 
under  which  he  groaned.     On  hearing  this  a  ray 
of  light  and  hope  broke    in  upon  the   mind  of 

C_.  xr  ,-i        ,     .1  ,  .  1*11  which  were  erected  one  or  two  towers,  in  which  stood 

OrteS.         rle    SaW    tliat    the    great    empire    WhlCll    he     the    sacred    images.     Before    these    towers    stood    the 

dreadful  stone  of  sacrifice. 

intended  to  attack  was  neither  perfectly  united, 
nor  its  sovereign  universally  beloved.  He  concluded  that  the  causes 
of  disaffection  could  not  be  confined  to  one  province,  but  that  in 
other  corners  there  must  be  malecontents,  so  weary  of  subjection, 
or  so  desirous  of  change,  as  to  be  ready  to  follow  the  standard  of 
any  protector.  Full  of  those  ideas,  on  which  he  began  to  form  a 
scheme,  that  time,  and  more  perfect  information  concerning  the  state 
of  the  country,  enabled  him  to  mature,  he  gave  a  most  gracious  re- 
ception to  the  Cempoalans,  and  promised  soon  to  visit  their  cacique. 
In  order  to  perform  this  promise,  it  was  not  necessary  to  vary 


PYRAMID    OF    TEHUANTEPEC. 

All  large  cities  contained  these  teocallis  (houses  of 
god),  generally  constructed  of  a  mound  of  earth,  cased 
with  adobe  brick  (sun  dried).  The  city  of  Mexico  is 
said  to  have  contained  600  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
The  ascent  was  by  a  flight  of  stairs,  at  an  angle  of  the 
pyramid,  on  the  outside.  The  top  was  a  broad  area,  on 
which  were  erected  1 


462 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


PRIEST  FIGHTING  WITH  A  PRISONER   FASTENED  TO  THE 
TEMALACATL,   OR  GLADIATORIAL  STONE. 

The  peculiar  sword  in  the  hands  of  both 
was  made  of  wood,  inserted  with  sharp 
pieces  of  itztli,  and  known  by  the  name  of 
maquahuitl. 


i&idj^i^r-^  ■  '--'v 

AZTEC  PRIEST  SKIN 


the  route  which  he  had  already  fixed  for  his  march. 
Some  officers,  whom  he  had  employed  to  survey  the 
coast,  having  discovered  a  village  named  Quiabislan, 
about  forty  miles  to  the  northward,  which,  both  on 
account  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  commodious- 
ness  of  the  harbor,  seemed  to  be  a  more  proper  station 
for  a  settlement  than  that  where  he  was  encamped, 
Cortes  determined  to  remove  thither.  Cempoala  lay 
in  his  way,  where  the  cacique  received  him  in  the 
manner  which  he  had  reason  to  expect ;  with  gifts  and 
caresses,  like  a  man  solicitous  to  gain  his  good  will ; 
with  respect  approaching  almost  to  adoration,  like  one 
who  looked  up  to  him  as  a  deliverer.  From  him  he 
learned  many  particulars  with  respect  to  the  character 
of  Montezuma,  and  the  circumstances  which  rendered  his  dominion 
odious.  He  was  a  tyrant,  as  the  cacique  told  him  with  tears, 
haughty,  cruel,  and  suspicious  ;  who  treated  his  own 
subjects  with  arrogance,  ruined  the  conquered  prov- 
inces by  excessive  exactions,  and  often  tore  their 
sons  and  daughters  from  them  by  violence;  the  for- 
mer, to  be  offered  as  victims  to  his  gods;  the  latter, 
to  be  reserved  as  concubines  for  himself  or  favorites. 
Cortes,  in  reply  to  him,  artfully  insinuated,  that  one 


UMAN  VICTIM 


before  turning  the  body  over  to  the  warrior  who    great  object  of  the  Spaniards  in  visiting  a  country 

had  taken  him  in   battle,  to  be  dressed  by  him  J 

and  served  up  in  an  entertainment  to  his  friends.  so  remote  from  their  own,  was  to  redress  grievances, 
and  to  relieve  the  oppressed;  and  having  encouraged  him  to  hope  for 
this  interposition  in  due  time,  he  continued  his  march  to  Quiabislan. 
The  spot  which  his  officers  had  recommended  as  a  proper 
situation,  appeared  to  him  to  be  so  well  chosen, 
that  he  immediately  marked  out  ground  for  a 
town.  The  houses  to  be  erected  were  only 
huts ;  but  these  were  to  be  surrounded  with 
fortifications  of  sufficient  strength  to  resist  the 
assaults  of  an  Indian  army.  As  the  finishing 
of  those  fortifications  was  essential  to  the  ex- 
istence of  a  colony,  and  of  no  less  importance 
in  prosecuting  the  designs  which  the  leader 
and  his  followers  meditated,  both  in  order  to 


THE  TECHCATL,  OH  STONE  OF  SACRIFICE. 


Human  sacrifices  have  been  practised  by  many 
nations,  but  never  by  any,  on  a  scale  to  be  compared  with 
those  of  Anahuac.  The  amount  of  victims  immolated  on  its 
accursed  altars  would  stagger  the  faith  of  the  least  scrupu- 
lous believer.  Scarcely  any  author  pretends  to  estimate  the 
yearly  sacrifices  throughout  the  empire  at  less  than  20,000. 
When  the  victim  reserved  for  sacrifice  arrived  on  top  of  the 
pyramid    (teocalli)   he    was  received    by   six    priests,   whose 

long   and   matted  locks  flowed  disorderly  over  their  sable  "XT  J  4-lioi-r* 

robes,  covered  with    hieroglyphic  scrolls  of  mystic  import.      SCCUrC    3.    plUCC    OI    retreat,    3.11(1    tO    prCSCrVC   lllclr 
They  led  him  to  the  sacrificial  stone,  tTcchcatl)  a  huge  block  *  r 

•  f  jasper,  with  its  upper  surface  somewhat  convex.  On 
this  the  prisoner  was  stretched,  hive  priests  secured  his 
head  and  limbs;  while  the  sixth,  clad  in  a  scarlet  mantle, 
dexterously  opened  the  breast  of  the  wretched  victim  with 
a  sharp  razor  of  itztli — a  volcanic  substance  hard  as  flint. 
— Prescott)  Conquest,  Vol.    /. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  463 

communication  with  the  sea,  every  man  in  the  army,  officers  as 
well  as  soldiers,  put  his  hand  to  the  work,  Cortes  himself  setting 
them  an  example  of  activity  and  perseverance  in  labor.  The  In- 
dians of  Cempoala  and  Ouiabislan  lent  their  aid ;  and  this  petty 
station,  the  parent  of  so  many  mighty  settlements,  was  soon  in  a 
state  of  defense. 

While  engaged  in  this  necessary  work,  Cortes  had  several  in- 
terviews with  the  caciques  of  Cempoala  and  Quiabislan ;  and  avail- 
ing himself  of  their  wonder  and  astonishment  at  the  new  objects 
which  they  daily  beheld,  he  gradually  inspired  them  with  such  a 
high  opinion  of  the  Spaniards,  as  beings  of  a  superior  order,  and 
irresistible  in  arms,  that,  relying  on  their  protection,  they  ven- 
tured to  insult  the  Mexican  power,  at  the  very  name  of  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  tremble.  Some  of  Montezuma's  officers 
having  appeared  to  levy  the  usual  tribute,  and  to  demand  a  certain 
number  of  human  victims,  as  an  expiation  for  their  guilt  in  pre- 
suming to  hold  intercourse  with  those  strangers  whom  the  em- 
peror had  commanded  to  leave  his  dominions ;  instead  of  obeying 
the  order,  the  caciques  made  them  prisoners,  treated  them  with 
great  indignity,  and  as  their  superstition  was  no  less  barbarous 
than  that  of  the  Mexicans,  they  prepared  to  sacrifice  them  to  their 
gods.  From  this  last  danger  they  were  delivered  by  the  interpo- 
sition of  Cortes,  who  manifested  the  utmost  horror  at  the  mention 
of  such  a  deed.  The  two  caciques  having  now  been  pushed  to  an 
act  of  such  open  rebellion,  as  left  them  no  hope  of  safety  but  in 
attaching  themselves  inviolably  to  the  Spaniards,  they  soon  com- 
pleted their  union  •  with  them,  by  formally  acknowledging  them- 
selves to  be  vassals  of  the  same  monarch.  Their  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Totonaques,  a  fierce  people  who  inhabited  the  mount- 
ainous part  of  the  country.  They  willingly  subjected  themselves 
to  the  crown  of  Castile,  and  offered  to  accompany  Cortes,  with  all 
their  forces,  in  his  march  towards  Mexico. 

Cortes  had  now  been  above  three  months  in  New  Spain ;  and 
though  this  period  had  not  been  distinguished  by  martial  exploits, 
every  moment  had  been  employed  in  operations,  which,  though  less 
splendid,  were  more  important.  By  his  address  in  conducting  his 
intrigues  with  his  own  army,  as  well  as  his  sagacity  in  carrying  on 
his  negotiations  with  the  natives,  he  had  already  laid  the  founda- 
tions  of   his   future  success.     But,  whatever  confidence   he  might 


464  THE   CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO. 

place  in  the  plan  which  he  had  formed,  he  could  not  but  perceive, 
that  as  his  title  to  command  was  derived  from  a  doubtful  authority, 
he  held  it  by  a  precarious  tenure.  The  injuries  which  Velasquez 
had  received,  were  such  as  would  naturally  prompt  him  to  apply 
for  redress  to  their  common  sovereign ;  and  such  a  representation, 
he  foresaw,  might  be  given  of  his  conduct,  that  he  had  reason  to 
apprehend,  not  only  that  he  might  be  degraded  from  his  present 
rank,  but  subjected  to  punishment.  Before  he  began  his  march,  it 
was  necessary  to  take  the  most  effectual  precaution  against  this 
impending  danger.  With  this  view  he  persuaded  the. magistrates 
of  the  colony  at  Vera  Cruz  to  address  a  letter  to  the  king,  the  chief 
object  of  which  was  to  justify  their  own  conduct  in  establishing  a 
colony  independent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Velasquez.  In  order  to 
accomplish  this,  the}-  endeavored  to  detract  from  his  merit,  in  fit- 
ting out  the  two  former  armaments  under  Cordova  and  Grijalva, 
affirming  that  these  had  been  equipped  by  the  adventurers  who 
engaged  in  the  expeditions,  and  not  by  the  governor.  They  con- 
tended that  the  sole  object  of  Velasquez  was  to  trade  or  barter 
with  the  natives,  not  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  New  Spain,  or  to 
settle  a  colony  there.  They  asserted  that  Cortes  and  the  officers 
who  served  under  him  had  defrayed  the  greater  part  of  the  ex- 
penses of  fitting  out  the  armament.  On  this  account,  they  humbly 
requested  their  sovereign  to  ratify  what  they  had  done  in  his  name, 
and  to  confirm  Cortes  in  the  supreme  command  by  his  royal  com- 
mission. That  Charles  might  be  induced  to  grant  more  readily 
what  they  demanded, 'they  gave  him  a  pompous  description  of  the 
country  which  they  had  discovered ;  of  its  riches,  the  number  of 
its  inhabitants,  their  civilization  and  arts;  they  related  the  prog- 
ress which  they  had  already  made  in  annexing  some  parts  of  the 
country  situated  on  the  sea-coast  to  the  crown  of  Castile:  and 
mentioned  the  schemes  which  they  had  formed,  as  well  as  the  hopes 
which  they  entertained,  of  reducing  the  whole  to  subjection.  Cortes 
himself  wrote  in  a  similar  strain ;  and  as  he  knew  that  the  Spanish 
court,  accustomed  to  the  exaggerated  representations  of  every  new 
countrv  by  its  discoverers,  would  give  little  credit  to  their  splendid 
accounts  of  New  Spain,  if  these  were  not  accompanied  with  such 
a  specimen  of  what  it  contained,  as  would  excite  a  high  idea  of  its 
opulence,  he  solicited  his  soldiers  to  relinquish  what  the}'  might 
claim  as  their  part  of  the  treasures  which  had  hitherto  been  col- 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO 


465 


lected,  in  order  that  the  whole  might  be  sent  to  the  king.  Such 
was  the  ascendant  which  he  had  acquired  over  their  minds,  and 
such  their  own  romantic  expectations  of  future  wealth,  that  an 
army  of  indigent  and  rapacious 
adventurers  was  capable  of  this 
generous  effort,  and  offered  to 
their  sovereign  the  richest 
present  that  had  hitherto  been 
transmitted  from  the  New 
World.  Portocarrero  and 
Montejo,  the  chief  magistrates 
of  the  colony,  were  appointed 
to  carry  this  present  to  Cas- 
tile, with  express  orders  not  to 
touch  at  Cuba  in  their  passage 
thither. 

While  a  vessel  was  pre- 
paring for  their  departure,  an 
unexpected  event  occasioned  a 
general  alarm.  Some  soldiers 
and  sailors,  secretly  attached  to 
Velasquez,  or  intimidated  at 
the  prospect  of  the  dangers 
unavoidable  in  attempting  to 
penetrate  into  the  heart  of  a 
great  empire  with  such  un- 
equal force,  formed  the  design 
of  seizing  one  of  the  brigan- 
tines,  and  making  their  escape 
to  Cuba,  in  order  to  give  the 
governor  such  intelligence  as 
might  enable  him  to  intercept 
the  ship  which  was  to  carry 
the  treasure  and  dispatches  to 
Spain.  This  conspiracy,  though  formed  by  persons  of  low  rank, 
was  conducted  with  profound  secrecy ;  but  at  the  moment  when 
every  thing  was  ready  for  execution,  they  were  betrayed  by  one  of 
their  associates. 

Though  the  good  fortune  of  Cortes  interposed  so  seasonably  on 


Progenies  •  diwm-  oyentvs  ■  sic  •  carolvs  •  hie  ft 
Imperii  ■  caesar-  lvmina-  et  •  ora  -tvlit 
aet     • 
Ann 


SVAE 
M  *  D 


XXXI 


XXXI 


J_ 


CHARLES    V.    IN    HIS   31st   YEAR. 

THE    EMPEROR    IN    WHOSE    EMPIRE   THE    SUN    NEVER   S 
COPPER-ENGRAVING    OF    BARTEL    BEHAIM'S,   1531. 


466  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

this  occasion,  the  detection  of  this  conspiracy  filled  his  mind  with 
most  disquieting  apprehensions,  and  prompted  him  to  execute  a 
scheme  which  he  had  long  revolved.  He  perceived  that  the  spirit 
of  disaffection  still  lurked  among  his  troops  ;  that  though  hitherto 
checked  by  the  uniform  success  of  his  schemes,  or  suppressed  by 
the  hand  of  authority,  various  events  might  occur  which  would  en- 
courage and  call  it  forth.  He  observed,  that  many  of  his  men, 
wear)'  of  the  fatigue  of  service,  longed  to  revisit  their  settlements 
in  Cuba ;  and  that  upon  any  appearance  of  extraordinary  danger  or 
any  reverse  of  fortune,  it  would  be  impossible  to  restrain  them  from 
returning  thither.  He  was  sensible  that  his  forces,  already  too 
feeble,  could  bear  no  diminution,  and  that  a  very  small  defection  of 
his  followers  would  oblige  him  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  After  ru- 
minating often,  and  with  much  solicitude,  upon  those  particulars,  he 
saw  no  hope  of  success  but  in  cutting  off  all  possibility  of  retreat, 
and  in  reducing  his  men  to  the  necessity  of  adopting  the  same  res- 
olution with  which  he  himself  was  animated,  either  to  conquer  or 
to  perish.  With  this  view,  he  determined  to  destroy  his  fleet;  but 
as  he  durst  not  venture  to  execute  such  a  bold  resolution  by  his 
single  authority, -he  labored  to  bring  his  soldiers  to  adopt  his  ideas 
with  respect  to  the  propriety  of  this  measure.  His  address  in  ac- 
complishing this  was  not  inferior  to  the  arduous  occasion  in  which 
it  was  employed.  He  persuaded  some,  that  the  ships  had  suffered 
so  much  by  having  been  long  at  sea,  as  to  be  altogether  unfit  for 
service;  to  others  he  pointed  out  what  a  seasonable  reinforcement 
of  strength  they  would  derive  from  the  junction  of  a  hundred  men, 
now  unprofitably  employed  as  sailors ;  and  to  all  he  represented 
the  necessity  of  fixing  their  eyes  and  wishes  upon  what  was  before 
them,  without  allowing  the  idea  of  a  retreat  once  to  enter  their 
thoughts.  With  universal  consent  the  ships  were  drawn  ashore, 
and  after  stripping  them  of  their  sails,  rigging,  iron  works,  and 
whatever  else  might  be  of  use,  they  were  broke  in  pieces.  Thus, 
from  an  effort  of  magnanimity,  to  which  there  is  nothing  parallel 
in  history,  five  hundred  men  voluntarily  consented  to  be  shut  up 
in  a  hostile  country,  filled  with  powerful  and  unknown  nations ; 
and,  having  precluded  every  means  of  escape,  left  themselves  with- 
out any  resource  but  their  own  valor  and  perseverance. 

Nothing  now  retarded  Cortes ;  the  alacrity  of  his  troops  and 
the  disposition  of  his  allies  were  equally  favorable.    All  the  advan- 


Cowi.*nc  1831  Ft 


CORTES  CUTS  OFF  ALL  CHANCES  OF  HIS  DISCONTENTED  FOLLCV 

Paintint 


ER'OF  ABANDONING  THE   ENTERPRISE,    BY  SCUTTLING   HIS  SHIPS. 
'  §  "rraeff. 


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O 
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5  £ 


h  a 


(471) 


THE   CONQUEST   OK    MEXICO.  473 

tages,  however,  derived  from  the  latter,  though  procured  by  much 
assiduity  and  address,  were  well  nigh  lost  in  a  moment  by  an  indis- 
creet sally  of  religious  zeal,  which  on  many  occasions  precipitated 
Cortes  into  actions  inconsistent  with  the  prudence  that  distinguishes 
his  character.  Though  hitherto  he  had  neither  time  nor  opportunity 
to  explain  to  the  natives  the  errors  of  their  own  superstition,  or  to 
instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  faith,  he  commanded 
his  soldiers  to  overturn  the  altars  and  to  destroy  the  idols  in  the 
chief  temple  of  Cempoala,  and  in  their  place  to  erect  a  crucifix  and 
an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  people  beheld  this  with  aston- 
ishment and  horror;  the  priests  excited  them  to  arms;  but  such 
was  the  authority  of  Cortes,  and  so  great  the  ascendant  which  the 
Spaniards  had  acquired,  that  the  commotion  was  appeased  without 
bloodshed,  and  concord  perfectly  re-established. 


CORTES    PLANTS    THE    CHRISTIAN    SYMBOL   OF    REDEMPTION    ON   A 

MEXICAN    ALTAR. 

MARBLE    GROUP    BY    ANTO.    MOLTO    Y    SUCH. 


CHAPTER   LIV. 


ADVANCE    INTO    THE    HEART   OF    MEXICO.      SUCCESSFUL  TERMINATION   OF  THE  WAR  WITH    THE 
TLASCALANS.      CONCLUDES  A  TREATY   OF   PEACE   WITH   THEM. 


ORTES  began  his  march 
from  Cempoala,  on  the  16th 
day  of  August,  with  five 
hundred  men,  fifteen  horse, 
and  six  field-pieces.  The 
rest  of  his  troops,  consisting 
chiefly  of  such  as  from 
age  or  infirmity  were  less 
fit  for  active  service,  he 
left  as  a  garrison  in  Villa 
Rica,  under  the  command 
of  Escalante,  an  officer  of 
merit,  and  warmly  at- 
tached to  his  interest. 
The  cacique  of  Cempoala 
supplied  him  with  provi- 
sions, and  with  two  hun- 
dred of  those  Indians  called 
Tamemes,  whose  office,  in  a 
country  where  tame  animals 
were  unknown,  was  to  carry 
burdens,  and  to  perform  all 
servile  labor.  They  were  a  great  relief  to  the  Spanish  soldiers, 
who  hitherto  had  been  obliged,  not  only  to  carry  their  own  bag- 
gage, but   to   drag  along  the  artillery  by  main  force.     He  offered 


ARMOR    OF    CORTES    IN    THE    ARSENAL,     MADRID 


<  474  * 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


475 


IFOUND    AT    TULA.) 


likewise  a  considerable  body  of  his  troops,  but  Cortes  was  satis- 
fied with  four  hundred ;  taking  care,  however,  to  choose  persons 
of  such  note  as  might  prove  hostages  for  the  fidelity  of  their 
master.     Nothing  memorable  happened  in  his  progress,  until   $>£§ 
he  arrived  on  the  confines  of  Tlascala.     The  inhabitants 
of  that  province,  a  warlike  people,  were  implacable  enemies 
of   the    Mexicans,   and  had  been  united  in  an  ancient 
alliance  with   the  caciques  of  Cempoala.      Though  less 
civilized  than   the  subjects    of   Montezuma,    they    were 
advanced  in  improvement  far  beyond  the  rude  nations  HP 
of  America,  inhabiting  the  country  north  of  the  Rio 
Grande.     They    had    made    considerable    progress    in 
agriculture  ;    they  dwelt  in  large  towns ;  they  were  not 
strangers   to    some  species  of  commerce ;    and  in    the  profile  of  a  warrior,  cut  in  mother  of  pearl. 
imperfect     accounts    of    their    institutions    and    laws, 
transmitted  to  us  by  the  early  Spanish  writers,  we  discern  traces 
both   of  distributive  justice   and  of  criminal  jurisdiction,  in  their 
interior  police.     But  still,  as  the  degree  of  their  civilization  was  in- 
complete, and  as  they  depended  for  subsistence  not  on  agriculture 
alone,  but  trusted  for  it,  in  a  great  measure 
to  hunting,  they  retained  many  of  the  quali- 
ties   natural    to    men    in    this   state.     Like 
them  they  were  fierce  and  revengeful ;  like 
them,     too,    they    were    high-spirited    and 
independent.       In    consequence 
of    the    former,   they    were    in- 
volved  in  perpetual  hostilities, 
and  had  but  a  slender  and   oc- 
casional intercourse  with  neigh- 
boring states.       The    latter  in- 
spired them  with  such  detesta- 
tion of  servitude,  that  they  not 
only  refused  to  stoop 
to  a  foreign  yoke,  and 
maintain  an  obstinate 
and  successful  contest 
in    defense    of    their 
liberty  against  the' 
superior  power  of  the 


RUINS  OF  A   MEXICAN   FORTRESS  (MITLAI. 


476 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


AFTER   J.    C.    STEPHENS 


Mexican  empire,  but  they  guarded  with  equal  solicitude  against 
domestic  tyranny ;  and  disdaining  to  acknowledge  an}-  master, 
they  lived  under  the  mild  and  limited  jurisdiction  of  a  council 
elected  by  their  several  tribes. 

Cortes,  though  he  had  received  information  concerning  the 
martial  character  of  this  people,  flattered  himself  that  his  profes- 
sions of  delivering  the  oppressed  from  the  tyranny  of  Montezuma, 
their  inveterate  enmity  to  the  Mexicans,  and  the  example  of  their 
ancient  allies  the  Cempoalans,  might  induce  the  Tlascalans  to  grant 

him  a  friendly  reception.  In  order 
to  dispose  them  to  this,  four  Cem- 
poalans of  great  eminence  were 
sent  ambassadors,  to  request  in  his 
name,  and  in  that  of  their  cacique, 
that  thej'  would  permit  the  Span- 
iards to  pass  through  the  terri- 
tories of  the  republic  in  their  way 
to  Mexico.  But  instead  of  the 
favorable  answer  which  was  ex- 
pected, the  Tlascalans  seized  the 
ambassadors,  and,  without  any  re- 
gard to  their  public  character,  made 
preparations  for  sacrificing  them  to 
their  gods.  At  the  same  time  they 
assembled  their  troops,  in  order  to 
oppose  those  unknown  invaders  if 
they  should  attempt  to  make  their 
passage  good  by  force  of  arms. 
Various  motives  concurred  in  precipitating  the  Tlascalans  into  this 
resolution.  A  fierce  people,  shut  up  within  its  own  narrow  precincts, 
and  little  accustomed  to  any  intercourse  with  foreigners,  is  apt  to 
consider  every  stranger  as  an  enemy,  and  is  easily  excited  to  arms. 
They  conelrided,  from  Cortes'  proposal  of  visiting  Montezuma  in 
his  capital,  that,  notwithstanding  all  his  professions,  he  courted 
the  friendship  of  a  monarch  whom  they  both  hated  and  feared. 
The  imprudent  zeal  of  Cortes  in  violating  the  temples  in  Cempoala, 
filled  the  Tlascalans  with  horror ;  and  as  they  were  no  less  at- 
tached to  their  superstition  than  the  other  nations  of  New  Spain, 
they  were  impatient  to  avenge  their  injured  gods,  and  to  acquire 


MEXICAN    ALTAR. 


'INCIDENTS    OF    TRAVEL    IN    CENTRAL    AMERICA,    CHIAPAS, 
AND    YUCATAN." 


Capnuama  1832  FEWmo. 


CORTES  MEETS  WITH  OBSTINATE  RESISTANCE 
On  entering  Tlascalan  territory,  suffering  the  irreparable  loss  of  two  horses. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  479 

the  merit  of  offering  up  to  them  as  victims,  those  impious  men 
who  had  dared  to  profane  their  altars;  they  contemned  the  small 
number  of  the  Spaniards,  as  they  had  not  yet  measured  their  own 
strength  with  that  of  those  new  enemies,  and  had  no  idea  of  the 
superiority  which  they  derived  from  their  arms  and  discipline. 

Cortes,  after  waiting  some  days,  in  vain,  for  the  return  of  his 
ambassadors,  advanced  [Aug.  30]  into  the  Tlascalan  territories. 
As  the  resolutions  of  people  who  delight  in  war  are  executed  with 
no  less  promptitude  than  they  are  formed,  he  found  troops  in  the 
field  ready  to  oppose  him.  They  attacked  him  with  great  intrep- 
idity, and,  in  the  first  encounter,  wounded  some  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  killed  two  horses ;  a  loss,  in  their  situation,  of  great  moment, 
because  it  was  irreparable.  From  this  specimen  of  their  courage, 
Cortes  saw  the  necessity  of  proceeding  with  caution.  His  army 
marched  in  close  order;  he  chose  the  stations  where  he  halted,  with 
attention,  and  fortified  every  camp  with  extraordinary  care.  Dur- 
ing fourteen  days  he  was  exposed  to  almost  uninterrupted  assaults, 
the  Tlascalans  advancing  with  numerous  armies,  and  renewing  the 
attack  in  various  forms,  with  a  degree  of  valor  and  perseverance 
to  which  the  Spaniards  had  seen  nothing  parallel  in  the  New 
World.  The  Spanish  historians  describe  those  successive  battles 
with  great  pomp,  and  enter  into  a  minute  detail  of  particulars, 
mingling  many  exaggerated  and  incredible  circumstances  with  such 
as  are  real  and  marvellous.  But  no  power  of  words  can  render  the 
recital  of  a  combat  interesting,  where  there  is  no  equality  of  dan- 
ger; and  when  the  narrative  closes  with  an  account  of  thousands 
slain  on  the  one  side,  while  not  a  single  person  falls  on  the  other, 
the  most  labored  descriptions  of  the  previous  disposition  of  the 
troops,  or  of  the  various  vicissitudes  in  the  engagement,  command 
no  attention. 

There  are  some  circumstances,  however,  in  this  war,  which  are 
memorable,  and  merit  notice,  as  they  throw  light  upon  the  char- 
acter both  of  the  people  of  New  Spain,  and  of  their  conquerors. 
Though  the  Tlascalans  brought  into  the  field  such  numerous  armies 
as  appear  sufficient  to  have  overwhelmed  the  Spaniards,  they  were 
never  able  to  make  any  impression  upon  their  small  battalion. 
Singular  as  this  may  seem,  it  is  uot  inexplicable.  The  Tlascalans, 
though  addicted  to  war,  were,  like  all  unpolished  nations,  strangers 
to  military  order  and*  discipline,  and  lost   in   a  great  measure  the 


4S0 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


advantage  which  they  might  have  derived  from  their  numbers,  and 
the  impetuosity  of  their  attack,  by  their  constant  solicitude  to  carry 
off  the  dead  and  wounded.  This  point  of  honor,  founded  on  a 
sentiment  of  tenderness  natural  to  the  human  mind,  and  strength- 
ened by  anxiety  to  preserve  the  bodies  of  their  countrymen  from 
being  devoured  by  their  enemies,  was  universal  among  the  people 

of  New  Spain.  Attention  to  this  pious 
office  occupied  them  even,  during  the 
heat  of  combat,  broke  their  union,  and 
diminished  the  force  of  the  impression 
which  they  might  have  made  by  a  joint 
effort. 

Not  only  was  their  superiority  in  num- 
ber of  little  avail,  but  the  imperfection 
of  their  military  weapons  rendered  their 
valor  in  a  great  measure  inoffensive. 
After  three  battles,  and  many  skirmishes 
and  assaults,  not  one  Spaniard  was  killed 
in  the  field.  Arrows  and  spears,  headed 
with  flint  or  the  bones  of  fishes,  stakes 
hardened  in  the  fire,  and  wooden  swords, 
though  destructive  weapons  among  naked 
Indians,  were  easily  turned  aside  by 
the  Spanish  bucklers,  and  could  'hardly 
penetrate  the  escaitpiles,  or  quilted  jack- 
ets, which  the  soldiers  wore.  The  Tlas- 
calans  advanced  boldly  to  the  charge,  and 
often  fought  hand  to  hand.  Many  of 
the  Spaniards  were  wounded,  though  all 
slightly,  which  can  not  be  imputed  to 
any  want,  of  courage  or  strength  in  their 
enemies,  but  to  the  defect  of  the  arms 
with  which  they  assailed  them. 
Notwithstanding  the  fury  with  which  the  Tlascalans  attacked 
the  Spaniards,  they  seemed  to  have  conducted  their  hostilities  with 
some  degree  of  barbarous  generosity.  They  gave  the  Spaniards 
warning  of  their  hostile  intentions  ;  and  as  they  knew  that  their 
invaders  wanted  provisions,  and  imagined,  perhaps,  like  the  other 
Americans,  that  they  had  left  their  own  country  because  it  did  not 


AN   AZTEC  TIGER    KNIGHT. 

COPIED  FROM  THE  MODEL  IN  THE  MUSEUM  OF  THE  TROCADERO,  PARIS. 

The  dress  was  made  from  a  cotton  stuff,  colored  in  imitation 
of  the  skin  of  a  leopard;  the  helmet  and  sword  of  wood;  the  lat- 
ter having  two  rows  of  sharp  pieces  of  itzli  inserted  on  both  sides. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


4S1 


afford  thern  subsistence,  they  sent  to  their  camp  a  large  supply  of 
poultry  and  maize,  desiring  them  to  eat  plentifully,  because  they 
scorned  to  attack  an  enemy  enfeebled  by  hunger,  and  it  would  be 
an  affront  to  their  gods  to  offer  them  famished  victims,  as  well  as 
disagreeable  to  themselves  to  feed  on  such  emaciated  prey. 

When  they  were  taught  by 
the  first  encounter  with  their  new 
enemies  that  it  was  not  easy  to 
execute  this  threat ;  when  they 
perceived,  in  the  subsequent  en- 
gagements, that  notwithstanding 
all  the  efforts  of  their  own  valor, 
of  which  they  had  a  very  high 
opinion,  not  one  of  the  Spaniards 
was  slain  or  taken,  they  began  to 
conceive  them  to  be  a  superior 
order  of  beings,  against  whom  hu- 
man power  could  not  avail.  In 
this  extremity,  they  had  recourse 
to  their  priests,  requiring  them  to 
reveal  the  mysterious  causes  of 
such  extraordinary  events,  and  to 
declare  what  new  means  they 
should  employ  in  order  to  repulse 
those  formidable  invaders.  The 
priests,  after  many  sacrifices  and 
incantations,  delivered  this  re- 
sponse :  That  these  strangers  were 
the  offspring  of  the  sun,  procreated 
by  this  animating  energy  in  the 
regions  of  the  east ;  that,  by  day, 
while  cherished  with  the  influence 
of  his  parental  beams,  they  were  in- 
vincible ;  but  by  night,  when  his 
reviving  heat  was  withdrawn,  their  vigor  declined  and  faded  like  the 
herbs  in  the  field,  and  they  dwindled  down  into  mortal  men.  Theo- 
ries less  plausible  have  gained  credit  with  more  enlightened  nations, 
and  have  influenced  their  conduct.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  Tlas- 
calans,  with  the  implicit  confidence  of  men  who  fancy  themselves  to 


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PRIESTS    OFFERING    A    SACRIFICE    TO    CUCULCAN. 

(STONE    CARVING    FROM     LORILLARD,  YUCATAN.) 

Monsieur  D£sir£  Charnay,  who,  in  his  exploratinns  in  Yucatan,  was 
a  princely  style  by  Mr.  Pierre  Lorillard.  of  New  York,  named  one  of 
tuwns  discovered  by  him  after  this  public-spirited  merchant  prince. 


assisted  in 

the  ruined 


482  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

be  under  the  guidance  of  Heaven,  acted  in  contradiction  to  one  of 
their  most  established  maxims  in  war,  and  ventured  to  attack  the 
enemy,  with  a  strong  body,  in  the  night  time,  in  hopes  of  destroy- 
ing them  when  enfeebled  and  surprised.  But  Cortes  had  greater 
vigilance  and  discernment  than  to  be  deceived  by  the  rude  strate- 
gems  of  an  Indian  army.  The  sentinels  at  his  outposts,  observing 
some  extraordinary  movement  among  the  Tlascalans,  gave  the 
alarm.  In  a  moment  the  troops  were  under  arms,  and  sallying  out, 
dispersed  the  party  with  great  slaughter,  without  allowing  it  to  ap- 
proach the  camp.  The  Tlascalans,  convinced,  by  sad  experience,  that 
their  priests  had  deluded  them,  and  satisfied  that  they  attempted 
in  vain,  either  to  deceive  or  to  vanquish  their  enemies,  their  fierce- 
ness abated,  and  they  began  to  incline  seriously  to  peace. 

They  were  at  a  loss,  however,  in  what  manner  to  address  the 
strangers,  what  idea  to  form  of  their  character,  and  whether  to 
consider  them  as  beings  of  a  gentle  or  of  a  malevolent  nature. 
There  were  circumstances  in  their  conduct  which  seemed  to  favor 
each  opinion.  On  the  one  hand,  as  the  Spaniards  constantly  dis- 
missed the  prisoners  whom  they  took,  not  only  without  injury,  but 
often  with  presents  of  European  toys,  and  renewed  their  offers  of 
peace  after  every  victory ;  this  lenity  amazed  people,  who,  according 
to  the  exterminating  system  of  war  known  in  America,  were  accus- 
tomed to  sacrifice  and  devour  without  mercy  all  the  captives  taken 
in  battle,  and  disposed  them  to  entertain  favorable  sentiments  of  the 
humanity  of  their  new  enemies.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Cortes 
had  seized  fifty  of  their  countrymen  who  brought  provisions  to  his 
camp,  and,  supposing  them  to  be  spies,  had  cut  off  their  hands  ;  this 
bloody  spectacle,  added  to  the  terror  occasioned  by  the  fire  arms 
and  horses,  filled  them  with  dreadful  impressions  of  the  ferocity  of 
their  invaders.  This  uncertainty  was  apparent  in  the  mode  of  ad- 
dressing the  Spaniards.  "If,"  said  they,  "you  are  divinities  of  a 
cruel  and  savage  nature,  we  present  to  you  five  slaves,  that  you 
may  drink  their  blood  and  eat  their  flesh.  If  you  are  mild  deities, 
accept  an  offering  of  incense  and  variegated  plumes.  If  you  are 
men,  here  is  meat,  and  bread,  and  fruit  to  nourish  you."  The  peace, 
which  both  parties  now  desired  with  equal  ardor,  was  soon  con- 
cluded. The  Tlascalans  yielded  themselves  as  vassals  to  the  crown 
of  Castile,  and  engaged  to  assist  Cortes  in  all  his  future  operations. 
He  took  the  republic  under  his  protection,  and  promised  to  defend 
their  persons  and  possessions  from  injury  or  violence. 


CHAPTER    LV. 


CORTES  SOLICITOUS  TO  CAIN   THE   CONFIDENCE   OF   HIS   NEW  CONFEDERATES  :   WHICH    BARELY 

GAINED,    HE    JEOPARDIZES   BY    HIS   RELIGIOUS    ZEAL.      ADVANCES  TO  CHOLULA, 

WHERE   HE   MASSACRES  6000    INHABITANTS,   AND  THENCE 

ON    TO  THE  CITY   OF    MEXICO.     <1St9.) 


HIS  treaty  was  concluded  at  a  sea- 
sonable juncture  for  the  Spaniards. 
The  fatigue  of  service  among  a  small 
body  of  men,  surrounded  by  such  a 
multitude  of  enemies,  was  incredible. 
Half  the  arm}-  was  on  duty  every 
night,  and  even  they  whose  turn  it 
was  to  rest,  slept  always  upon  their 
arms,  that  they  might  be  ready  to  run 
to  their  posts  on  a  moment's  warning. 
Many  of  them  were  wounded  ;  a  good  number,  and 
among  these  Cortes  himself,  labored  under  the 
distempers  prevalent  in  hot  climates,  and  several 
had  died  since  they  set  out  from  Vera  Cruz.  Notwithstanding  the 
supplies  which  they  received  from  the  Tlascalans,  they  were  often 
in  want  of  provisions,  and  so  destitute  of  the  necessaries  most 
requisite  in  dangerous  service,  that  they  had  no  salve  to  dress 
their  wounds,  but  what  was  composed  with  the  fat  of  the  Indians 
whom  they  had  slain.  Worn  out  with  such  intolerable  toil  and 
hardships,  many  of  the  soldiers  began  to  murmur,  and,  when  they 
reflected  on  the  multitude  and  boldness  of  their  enemies,  more  were 
ready  to  despair.  It  required  the  utmost  exertion  of  Cortes'  author- 
ity and  address  to  check  this  spirit  of  despondency  in  its  progress, 


(483) 


4S4 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


I.       £a 


in.    =m 


IV. 


v. 


and  to  reanimate  his  followers  with  their  wonted  sense  of 
their  own  superiority  over  the  enemies  with  whom  they  had 
to  contend.  The  submission  of  the  Tlascalans,  and  their  own 
triumphant  entry  into  the  capital  city,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived with  the  reverence  paid  to  beings  of  a  superior  order, 
banished,  at  once,  from  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards  all  memory 
of  past  sufferings,  dispelled  every  anxious  thought  with  re- 
spect to  their  future  operations,  and  fully  satisfied  them  that 
there  was  not  now  any  power  in  America  able  to  withstand 
their  arms. 

Cortes  remained  twenty  days  in  Tlascala,  in  order  to 
allow  his  troops  a  short  interval  of  repose  after  such  hard 
service.  During  that  time,  he  was  employed  in  transactions 
and  inquiries  of  great  moment  with  respect  to  his  future 
schemes.  In  his  daily  conferences  with  the  Tlascalan  chiefs, 
he  received  information  concerning  every  particular  relative 
to  the  state  of  the  Mexican  empire,  or  to  the  qualities  of  its 
sovereign,  which  could  be  of  use  in  regulating  his  conduct, 
whether  he  should  be  obliged  to  act  as  a  friend  or  as  an 
enemy.  As  he  found  that  the  antipathy  of  his  new  allies  to 
the  Mexican  nation  was  no  less  implacable  than  had  been 
represented,  and  perceived  what  benefit  he  might  derive 
from  the  aid  of  such  powerful  confederates,  he  employed  all 
his  powers  of  insinuation  in  order  to  gain  their  confidence. 
Nor  was  any  extraordinary  exertion  of  these  necessary.  The 
Tlascalans,  with  the  levity  of  mind  natural  to  unpolished 
men,  were,  of  their  own  accord,  disposed  to  run  from  the  ex- 
treme of  hatred  to  that  of  fondness.  Every  thing  in  the  ap- 
pearance and  conduct  of  their  guests  was  to  them  a  matter 
of  wonder.  They  gazed  with  admiration  at  whatever  the 
Spaniards  did,  and,  fancying  them  to  be  of  heavenly  origin, 
were  eager  not  only  to  comply  with  their  demands,  but  to 
anticipate  their  wishes.  They  offered,  accordingly,  to  accom- 
panv  Cortes  in  his  march  to  Mexico,  with  all  the  forces  of 
the -republic,  under  the  command  of  their  most  experienced 


MEXICAN  GODS  AND   GODDESSES.     CaptaiHS. 


But,  after  bestowing  so  much  pains  on  cementing  this 


Fig.     II.,     Cihuacoatl, 
represented    as     ancestral 

wr  her fa'ceWrivc.,,eTotL"  union,  all   the   beneficial  fruits  of  it    were  on  the    point  of 

chtlin,  God    >>f   the   inUixi-    ......  rr         .  --.  i  *       * 

cam  Pulque;  the  Mexican  beings  lost  by  a  new  effusion  of  that  intemperate  religious 

liacchus,      with     drinking  <->  J  A  *-J 

cup.    V.,  center  piece  from 

column.    Peculiar  and  not 

at    all     in    correspondence 

with     the    usual     Mexican 

physiognomy  are  the  noses 

111  ,  I V  .  V ; 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


zeal  with  which  Cortes  was  animated  no  less  than  the  other 
adventurers  of  the  age.  They  all  considered  themselves  as 
instruments  employed  by  Heaven  to  propagate  the  Christian 
faith,  and  the  less  they  were  qualified,  either  by  their  knowl 
edge  or  morals,  for  such  a  function,  the  more  eager  they 
were  to  discharge  it.  The  profound  veneration  of  the  Tlas- 
ealans  for  the  Spaniards  having  encouraged  Cortes  to  explain 
to  some  of  their  chiefs  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion,  and    to   insist   that    they    should    abandon    their  own 

superstitions,  and  embrace  the 
faith  of  their  new  friends,  they, 
according  to  an  idea  universal 
among  barbarous  nations,  readily 
acknowledged  the  truth  and  ex- 
cellence of  what  he  taught;  but 
contended,  that  the  Teules  of 
Tlascala  were  divinities  no  less 
than  the  God  in  whom  the  Span- 
iards believed ;  and  as  that  Being 
was  entitled  to  the  homage  of 
Europeans,  so  they  were  bound 
to  revere  the  same  powers  which 
their  ancestors  had  worshiped. 
Cortes  continued,  nevertheless, 
to  urge  his  demand  in  a  tone  of 
authority,  mingling  threats  with 
his  arguments,  until  the  Tlasca- 
lans  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and 
conjured  him  never  to  mention 
this  again,  lest  the  gods  should  avenge  on  their  heads  the 
guilt  of  having  listened  to  such  a  proposition.  Cortes,  as- 
tonished and  enraged  at  their  obstinacy,  prepared  to  execute 
by  force  what  he  could  not  accomplish  by  persuasion,  and 
was  going  to  overturn  their  altars,  and  cast  down  their  idols, 
with  the  same  violent  hand  as  at  Cempoala,  if  Father  Bar- 
tholomew de  Olmedo,  chaplain  to  the  expedition,  had  not 
checked  his  inconsiderate  impetuosity.  He  represented 
the  imprudence  of  such  an  attempt  in  a  large  city  newly 
reconciled,    and    filled    with    people    no    less    superstitious 


SCULPTURE  FROM  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  CROSS,  PALENQUE. 
(PRIEST  AOOR1NG  AND  SACRIFICING.) 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  Mexican  priests 
administered  the  rites  of  confession  and  abso- 
lution The  secrets  of  the  confessional  were 
held  inviolable,  and  penances  were  imposed 
of  much  the  same  kind  as  those  enjoined  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church. — Prescott,  Con- 
quest,  I'ol.  I.'p.  68. 


VII. 


VIII. 


X. 


MEXICAN    GODS    AND    GODDESSES. 

Figs.  VI.,   VII      IX.,  are 

center  pieces  from  col- 
umns. IX.,  Guatlique,  the 
Ceres  of  the  Mexicans. 
VIII.  and  X.  are  entirely 
covered  with  masks:  VII. 
only  with  a  nose  mask. 
VII.  and  VIII.  have  the 
usual    headgear,    a   feather 

pan. n   he, 


486 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO. 


than  warlike;  he  declared,  that  the  proceedings  at  Cempoala  had 
always  appeared  to  him  precipitate  and  unjust;  that  religion 
was  not  to  be  propagated  by  the  sword,  or  infidels  to  be  con- 
verted by  violence;  that  other  weapons  were  to  be  employed 
in  this  ministry;  patient  instruction  must  enlighten  the  under- 
standing, and  pious  example  captivate  the  heart,  before  men  could 
be  iuduced  to  abandon  error,  and  embrace  the  truth.  Amidst 
scenes,  where  a  narrow-minded  bigotry  appears  in  such  close  union 
with  oppression  and  cruelty,  sentiments  so  liberal  and  humane 
soothe  the  mind  with  unexpected  pleasure;  and  at  a  time  when  the 
rights  of  conscience  were  little  understood  in  the  Christian  world, 
and  the  idea  of  toleration  unknown,  one  is  astonished  to  find  a 
Spanish  monk  of  the  sixteenth  century  among  the  first  advocates 
against  persecution,  and  in  behalf  of  religious  liberty.  The  re- 
monstrances of  an  ecclesiastic,  no  less  respectable  for  wisdom  than 
virtue,  had  their  proper  weight  with  Cortes.  He  left  the  Tlasealans 
in  the  undisturbed  exercise  of  their  own  rites,  requiring  only  that 
they  should  desist  from  their  horrid  practice  of  offering  human 
victims  in  sacrifice. 

Cortes,  as  soon  as  his  troops  were  fit  for  service  resolved   to 

continue 
his  march 
towards 
Mexico,  not- 
withstand- 
ingthe  earn- 
est dissuas- 
ives  of  the 
Tlasealans, 
who  repre- 
sented his 
destruction 
as  unavoid- 
able, if  he 
put  himself 
in  the  power 
of  a  prince 
s  o   faithless 

PRIESTS    BEFORE    AN    ALTAR    SURMOUNTED    WITH    A    CROSS.  1  -i 

and  cruel  as 

FROM    THE   TEMPLE    (NO.    2)    OF    THE   CROSS,    PALENQUE. 

An  extraordinary  coincidence  with  Christian  rites  may  be  traced  in  the  priestly  ceremony  of  naming  the 
children  The  lips  and  bosom  of  the  infant  were  sprinkled  with  water,  and  "  The  Lurd  was  implored  to  permit  the 
holy  drops  to  wash  away  the  sin  that  was  given  to  it  before  the  foundation  of  the  world;  so  that  the  child  might  be 

new."— Sahagun.  Hist,  de  Nueva  Espatia,  lib    t^cap.jy. 


THE   CONQUEST   OE    MEXICO. 


487 


Montezuma.  As  he  was  accompanied  by  six  thousand  Tlascalans, 
he  had  now  the  command  of  forces  which  resembled  a  regular 
army.  They  directed  their  course  toward  Cholula  [Oct.  13] ; 
Montezuma,  who  had  at  length  consented  to  admit,  the  Span- 
iards into  his  presence,  having  informed  Cortes  that  he  had  given 
orders  for  his  friendly  reception  there.  Cholula  was  a  consider- 
able town,  and,  though  only  five  leagues  distant  from  Tlascala, 
was  formerly  an  independent  state,  but  had  been  lately  subjected 
to  the  Mexican  empire.  This  was  considered  by  all  the  people  of 
New  Spain  as  a 
holy  place,  the 
sanctuary  and 
chief  seat  of  their 
gods,  to  which  pil- 
grims resorted 
from  every  prov- 
ince, and  a  greater 
number  of  human 
victims  were  of- 
fered in  its  princi- 
pal temple  than 
even  in  that  of 
Mexico.  Monte- 
zuma seems  to 
have  invited  the 
Spaniards  thither, 
either  from  some 
superstitious  hope 
that  the  gods 
would  not  suffer 
this  sacred  mansion  to  be  defiled,  without  pouring  down  their 
wrath  upon  those  impious  strangers,  who  ventured  to  insult  their 
power  in  the  place  of  its  peculiar  residence;  or  from  a  belief  that 
he  himself  might  there  attempt  to  cut  them  off  with  more  certain 
success,  under  the  immediate  protection  of  his  divinities. 

Cortes  had  been  warned  by  the  Tlascalans,  before  he  set  out 
on  his  march,  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  over  the  Cholulans.  He 
himself,  though  received  into  the  town  with  much  seeming  respect 
and  cordiality,   observed    several    circumstanees    in    their  conduct 


RECEPTION   OF   CORTES  BY  THE  AZTEC    DIGNITARIES,    UPON   HIS    ENTRY   INTO  CHOLULA. 


4SS  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

which  excited  suspicion.  Two  of  the  Tlascalans,  who  were  en- 
camped at  some  distance  from  the  town,  as  the  Cholulans  refused 
to  admit  their  ancient  enemies  within  its  precincts,  having  found 
means  to  enter  in  disguise,  acquainted  Cortes  that  thev  observed 
the  women  and  children  of  the  principal  citizens  retiring  in  great 
hurry  every  night ;  and  that  six  children  had  been  sacrificed  in 
the  chief  temple,  a  rite  which  indicated  the  execution  of  some  war- 
like enterprise  to  be  approaching.  At  the  same  time,  Marina  the 
interpreter  received  information  from  an  Indian  woman  of  distinc- 
tion, whose  confidence  she  had  gained,  that  the  destruction  of  her 
friends  was  concerted ;  that  a  body  of  Mexican  troops  lay  concealed 
near  the  town ;  that  some  of  the  streets  were  barricaded,  and  in 
others,  pits  or  deep  trenches  were  dug,  and  slightly  covered  over, 
as  traps  into  which  the  horses  might  fall ;  that  stones  or  massive 
weapons  were  collected  on  the  tops  of  the  temples,  with  which  to 
overwhelm  the  infantry;  that  the  fatal  hour  was  now  at  hand,  and 
their  ruin  unavoidable.  Cortes,  alarmed  at  this  concurring  evi- 
dence, secretly  arrested  three  of  the  chief  priests,  and  extorted 
from  them  a  confession,  that  confirmed  the  intelligence  which  he 
had  received.  As  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost,  he  instantly  re- 
solved to  prevent  his  enemies,  and  to  inflict  on  them  such  dreadful 
vengeance  as  might  strike  Montezuma  and  his  subjects  with  terror. 
For  this  purpose,  the  Spaniards  and  Cempoalans  were  drawn  up 
in  a  large  court,  which  had  been  allotted  for  their  quarters  near 
the  centre  of  the  town  ;  the  Tlascalans  had  orders  to  advance ;  the 
magistrates  and  several  of  the  chief  citizens  were  sent  for,  under 
various  pretexts,  and  seized.  On  a  signal  given,  the  troops  rushed 
out  and  fell  upon  the  multitude,  destitute  of  leaders,  and  so  much 
astonished,  that  the  weapgns  dropping  from  their  hands,  the}'  stood 
motionless,  and  incapable  of  defense.  While  the  Spaniards  pressed 
them  in  front,  the  Tlascalans  attacked  them  in  the  rear.  The 
streets  were  filled  with  bloodshed  and  death.  The  temples,  which 
afforded  a  retreat  to  the  priests  and  some  of  the  leading  men,  were 
set  on  fire,  and  they  perished  in  the  flames.  This  scene  of  horror 
continued  two  days;  during  which,  the  wretched  inhabitants  suf- 
fered all  that  the  destructive  rage  of  the  Spaniards,  or  the  implac- 
able revenge  of  their  Indian  allies,  could  inflict.  At  length  the 
carnage  ceased,  after  the  slaughter  of  six  thousand  Cholulans,  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  single  Spaniard.     Cortes  then  released  the  magis- 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


489 


trates,  and,  reproaching  them  bitterly  for  their  intended  treachery, 
declared,  that  as  justice  was  now  appeased,  he  forgave  the  offense, 
but  required  them  to  recall  the  citizens  who  had  fled,  and  re-estab- 
lish order  in  the  town.  Such  was  the  ascendant  which  the  Span- 
iards had  acquired  over  this  superstitious  race  of  men,  and  so  deeply 
were  they  impressed  with  an  opinion  of  their  superior  discernment, 
as  well  as  power,  that,  in  obedience  to  this  command,  the  city  was 
in  a  few  days  filled  again  with  people,  who,  amidst  the  ruins  of 
their  sacred  buildings,  yielded 
respectful  service  to  men  whose 
hands  were  stained  with  the 
blood  of  their  relatives  and  fel- 
low-citizens. 

From  Cholula,  Cortes  ad- 
vanced directly  towards  Mexico 
[Oct.  29],  which  was  only  twenty 
leagues  distant.  In  every  place 
through  which  he  passed,  he  was 
received  as  a  person  possessed  of 
sufficient  power  to  deliver  the 
empire  from  the  oppression  un- 
der which  it  groaned ;  and  the 
caciques  or  governors  communi- 
cated to  him  all  the  grievances 
which  they  felt  under  the  tyran- 
nical government  of  Montezuma, 
with  that  unreserved  confidence 
which  men  naturally  repose  in 
superior  beings.  When  Cortes 
first  observed  the  seeds  of  dis- 
content in  the  remote  provinces  of  the  empire,  hope  dawned 
upon  his  mind;  but  when  he  now  discovered  such  symptoms  of 
alienation  from  their  monarch  near  the  seat  of  government,  he  con- 
cluded that  the  vital  parts  of  the  constitution  were  affected,  and 
conceived  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  overturning  a  state 
whose  natural  strength  was  thus  divided  and  impaired.  While 
those  reflections  encouraged  the  general  to  persist  in  his  arduous 
undertaking,  the  soldiers  were  no  less  animated  by  observations 
more  obvious  to  their  capacity.     In  descending  from  the  mountains 


CORTES    RELEASES   THE    IMPRISONEO    CHOLULAN    MAGISTRATES,    AND   ADMONISHES   THEM    TO 
RECALL   THE    FUGITIVE   CITIZENS. 


49° 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


of  Chalco,  across  which  the  road  lay,  the  vast  plain  of  Mexico 
opened  gradually  to  their  view.  When  they  first  beheld  this  pros- 
pect, one  of  the  most  striking  and  beautiful  on  the  face  of  the 
earth ;  when  they  observed  fertile  and  cultivated  fields  stretching 
further  than  the  eye  could  reach  ;  when  they  saw  a  lake  resembling 
a  sea  in  extent,  encompassed  with  large  towns,  and  discovered  the 
capital  city  rising  upon  an  island  in  the  middle,  adorned  with  its 
temples  and  turrets ;  the  scene  so  far  exceeded  their  imagination, 

that    some     believed     the 
fanciful  descriptions  of  ro- 
mance were   realized,  and 
that  its  enchanted  palaces 
and    gilded     domes     were 
presented   to  their    sight; 
others    could   hardly    per- 
suade themselves  that  this 
wonderful     spectacle     was 
anything    more   than    a 
dream.    As  they  advanced, 
their    doubts    were    re- 
moved,   but    their    amaze- 
ment increased.     They    were 
now    fully    satisfied    that  the 
country  was  rich  beyond  any 
conception  which    the}r    had 
formed  of  it,  and  flattered  thern- 
selves    that    at   length    they 
should    obtain    an    ample    recom- 
pense   for    all    their    services    and 
sufferings. 

Hitherto  they  had  met  with  no  enemy  to  oppose  their  progress, 
though  several  circumstances  occurred  which  led  them  to  suspect 
that  some  design  was  formed  to  surprise  and  cut  them  off.  Many 
messengers  arrived  successively  from  Montezuma,  permitting  them 
one  day  to  advance,  requiring  them  on  the  next  to  retire,  as  his 
hopes  or  fears  alternately  prevailed  ;  and  so  wonderful  was  this  in- 
fatuation, which  seems  to  be  unaccountable  on  any  supposition  but 
that  of  a  superstitious  dread  of  the  Spaniards,  as  beings  of  a  su- 
perior nature,  that  Cortes  was  almost  at  the  gates  of  the  capital, 


CORTES   AND    HIS   ARMY  SEE    THE   CITY    OF    MEXICO   SPREAD   OUT    BEFORE 

THEIR    ENCHANTED   VISION    UPON    REACHING   THE 

HEIGHTS    OF   CHALCO. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


491 


before  the  monarch  had  determined  whether  to  receive  him  as  a 
friend,  or  to  oppose  him  as  an  enemy.  But  as  no  sign  of  open  hos- 
tility appeared,  the  Spaniards,  without  regarding  the  fluctuations 
of  Montezuma's  sentiments,  continued  their  march  along  the  cause- 
way which  led  to  Mexico  through  the  lake,  with  great  circumspec- 
tion and  the  strictest  discipline,  though  without  seeming  to  suspect 
the  prince  whom  they  were  about  to  visit. 


THE    STONE    OF    THE   SUN    OH   TIZOC  ;    KNOWN    ALSO    BY    THE    MEXICAN    NAME   OF   TEMALACTl,    OH    ITS   SPANISH    NAME 
GLADIATORIAL    6TONE,    IN    THE    NATIONAL    MUSEUM,   MEXICO. 

This  stone  was  always  to  be  found  in  the  courts  of  the  Temple,  placed  over  a  basement 
varying  in  bulk  according  to  the  size  of  the  stone,  from  which  the  captive,  particularly  if  he 
happened  to  be  a  man  of  distinction,  was  allowed  to  fight  against  a  number  of  enemies  in  suc- 
cession ;  but,  besides  the  inequality  of  numbers,  he  was  furnished  only  with  a  wooden  sword, 
ornamented  with  feathers  along  the  blade,  whereas  his  enemies  had  weapons  of  obsidian,  "as 
sharp  as  steel." 

If  he  succeeded  in  defeating  them  all,  as  did  occasionally  happen,  he  was  allowed  to  escape, 
but  if  vanquished,  he  was  dragged  to  the  Techcatl,  or  stone  of  sacrifice. —  Chamay.  Ancient 
Cities. 


CHAPTER   LVI. 


FIRST   INTERVIEW  WITH    MONTEZUMA.      ENTRY   INTO    THE    CITY.     THE    DANGEROUS    SITUATION 

OF   HIS   ARMY  COMPELS   HIM   TO  ADOPT   EXTREME    MEASURES.      MONTEZUMA 

SEIZED    IN    HIS   PALACE  AND    CARRIED    PRISONER    TO 

THE  SPANISH   QUARTERS. 


HEN  they  drew  near  the  city,  about  a 
thousand  persons,  who  appeared  to  be 
of  distinction,  came  forth  to  meet 
them,  adorned  with  plumes  and  clad  in 
mantles  of  fine  cotton.  Each  of  these 
in  his  order  passed  by  Certes,  and 
saluted  him  according  to  the  mode 
deemed  most  respectful  and  submissive 
in  their  country.  They  announced  the 
approach  of  Montezuma  himself,  and 
soon  after  his  harbingers  came  in 
sight.  There  appeared  first  two  hun- 
dred persons  in  a  uniform  dress,  with 
large  plumes  of  feathers,  alike  in 
fashion,  marching  two  and  two,  in 
deep  silence,  barefooted,  with  their 
eyes  fixed  on  the  ground.  These  were  followed  by  a  company 
of  higher  rank,  in  their  most  showy  apparel,  in  the  midst  of  whom 
was  Montezuma,  in  a  chair  or  litter  richly  ornamented  with  gold, 
and  feathers  of  various  colors.  Four  of  his  principal  favorites  car- 
ried him  on  their  shoulders,  others  supported  a  canopy  of  curious 
workmanship  over  his  head.  Before  him  marched  three  officers 
with  rods  of  gold  in  their  hands,  which  they  lifted  up  on  high  at 
certain   intervals,   and  at  that  signal   all    the  people  bowed  their 


(49=) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


493 


heads,  and  hid  their  faces,  as  unworthy  to  look  on  so  great  a  mon- 
arch. When  he  drew  near,  Cortes  dismounted,  advancing  towards 
him  with  officious  haste,  and  in  a  respectful  posture..  At  the  same 
time  Montezuma  alighted  from  his  chair,  and,  leaning  on  the  arms 
of  two  of  his  near  relations,  approached  with  a  slow  and  stately 
pace,  his  attendants  covering  the  streets  with  cotton  cloths,  that  he 
might  not  touch  the  ground.  Cortes  accosted  him  with  profound 
reverence,  after  the  European  fashion.  He  returned  the  salutation, 
according  to  the  mode  of  his  country,  by  touching  the  earth  with 
his  hand,  and  then  kissing  it.  This  ceremony,  the  custom- 
ary expression  of  veneration 
from  inferiors  towards  those 
who  were  above  them  in 
rank,  appeared  such  amazing 
condescension  in  a  proud 
monarch,  who  scarcely 
deigned  to  consider  the  rest 
of  mankind  as  of  the  same 
species  with  -himself,  that 
all  his  subjects  firmly  be- 
lieved those  persons,  before 
whom  he  humbled  himself 
in  this  manner,  to  be  some- 
thing more  thau  human.  Ac- 
cordingly, as  the}'  inarched 
through  the  crowd,  the 
Spaniards  frequently,  and 
with  much  satisfaction, 
heard  themselves  denomi- 
nated Tenlcs,  or  divinities. 
Nothing  material  passed  in 
this  first  interview.  Monte- 
zuma conducted  Cortes  to 
the  quarters  which  he  had 
prepared  for  his  reception, 
and  immediately  took  leave 
of  him,  with  a  politeness  not 
unworthy  of  a  court  more  re- 
fined.    "  You  are  now,"  says 


FIRST    MEETING    OF    CORTES   WITH    THE    EMPEROR    MONTEZUMA,    ON    THE 


OF    NOVEMBER,    1519. 


494 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


PALACE   OF  THE   GOVERNOR   AT   UXMAL,   YUCATAN. 

The  style  of  Aztec  and  Mayan  architecture  being  very  similar,  and  none  of  the  former  remaining, 
the  picture  of  this  ruin  is  here  introduced  to  give  the  reader  a  more  vivid  idea  of  the  large  slone  houses 
abounding  in  the  city  of  Mexico.     See  also  page  496- 


he,  "  with  your  brothers,  in  your  own  house  ;  refresh  yourselves  after 
your  fatigue,  and  be  happy  until  I  return."  The  place  allotted  to 
the  Spaniards  for  their  lodging  was  a  house  built  by  the  father  of 
Montezuma.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall,  with  towers  at 
proper  distances,  which  served  for  defense  as 
well  as  for  ornament,  and  its 
apartments  and 
courts  were  so 
large  as  to  accom- 
modate both  the 
Spaniards  and 
their  Indian  al- 
lies. The  first- 
care  of  Cortes 
was  to  take  pre- 
cautions for  his 
security,  by  plant- 
ing the  artillery 
so  as  to  command  the  different  avenues  which  led.  to  it,  by  ap- 
pointing a  large  division  of  his  troops  to  be  always  on  guard,  and 
by  posting  sentinels  at  proper  stations,  with  injunctions  to  observe 
the  same  vigilant  discipline  as  if  they  were  within  sight  of  an  en- 
emy's camp. 

In  the  evening,  Montezuma  returned  to  visit  his  guests  with 
the  same  pomp  as  in  their  first  interview,  and  brought  presents  of 
such  value,  not  only  to  Cortes  and  to  his  officers,  but  even  to  the 
private  men,  as  proved  the  liberality  of  the  monarch  to  be  suitable 
to  the  opulence  of  his  kingdom.  A  long  conference  ensued,  in 
which  Cortes  learned  what  was  the  opinion  of  Montezuma  with 
respect  to  the  Spaniards.  It  was  an  established  tradition,  he  told 
him,  among  the  Mexicans,  that  their  ancestors  came  originally 
from  a  remote  region,  and  conquered  the  provinces  now  subject  to 
his  dominion  ;  that  after  they  were  settled  there,  the  great  captain 
who  conducted  this  colony  returned  to  his  own  country,  promising, 
that,  at  some  future  period,  his  descendants  should  visit  them,  as- 
sume the  government,  and  reform  their  constitution  and  laws ;  that 
from  what  he  had  heard  and  seen  of  Cortes  and  his  followers,  he 
was  convinced  that  they  were  the  very  persons  whose  appearance 
the  Mexican  traditions  and  prophecies  taught  them  to  expect ;  that 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


495 


accordingly  he  had  received  them,  not  as  strangers,  but  as  relations 
of  the  same  blood  and  parentage,  and  desired  that  they  might  con- 
sider themselves  as  masters  in  his 
dominions,  for  both  himself  and  his 
subjects  should  be  ready  to  comply 
with  their  will,  and  even  to  prevent 
their  wishes.  Cortes  made  a  reply 
in  his  usual  style,  with  respect  to 
the  dignity  and  power  of  his  sover- 
eign, and  his  intention  in  sending 
him  into  that  country  ;  artfully  en- 
deavoring so  to  frame  his  discourse, 
that  it  might  coincide  as  much  as 
possible  with  the  idea  which  Monte- 
zuma had  formed  concerning  the 
origin  of  the  Spaniards.  Next  morn- 
ing, Cortes  and  some  of  his  principal 
attendants  were  admitted  to  a  public  audience  of  the  emperor.  The 
three  subsequent  days  were  employed  in  viewing  the  city  ;  the  ap- 
pearance of  which,  so  far  superior  in  the  order  of  its  buildings  and 
the  number  of  its  inhabitants  to  any  place  the  Spaniards  had  be- 
held in  America,  and  yet -so  little  resembling  the  structure  of  an 
European  city,  filled  them  with  surprise  and  admiration. 


PLAN   OF  THE  CITV  OF   MEXICO,   SHOWING  THE  GREAT   PLACE  OF    6ACRIFICE     AND  T 
IMPERIAL  ZOOLOGICAL  GARDENS. 

FROM  THE  NURNBERG  ORIGINAL  OF  THE  LETTERS  OF  CORTES  TO  CHARLES  V. 


Mexico,  or  Tenochtitlan,  as  it  was  anciently 
called  by  the  natives,  is  situated  in  a  large  plain, 
environed  by  mountains  of  such  height,  that, 
though  within  the  torrid  zone,  the  temperature  of 
its  climate  is  mild  and  healthful.  All  the  mois- 
ture which  descends  from  the  high  grounds  is 
collected  in  several  lakes,  the  two  largest  of 
which,  of  about  ninety  miles  in  circuit,  commu- 
nicate with  each  other.  The  waters  of  the  one 
are  fresh,  those  of  the  other  brackish.  On  the 
banks  of  the  latter,  and  on  some  small  islands 
adjoining  to  them,  the  capital  of  Montezuma's  em- 
pire was  built.  The  access  to  the  city  was  by  arti- 
ficial causeways  or  streets  formed  of  stones  and 
earth,  about  thirty  feet  in  breadth.  As  the  waters 
of  the  lake  during  the  rainy  season  overflowed  the 


THE  GREAT  TEOCALLI   BUILDINGS  IN  THE  CITY  OF   MEXICO. 
RESTORED  AFTER  GOMARA'S   DESCRIPTION  BY  O.   MOTHES. 


496 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


flat  country,  these  causeways  were  of  considerable  length.  That  of 
Tacuba,  on  the  west,  extended  a  mile  and  a  half;  that  of  Tepeaca,  on 
the  northwest,  three  miles  ;  that  of  Cuoyacan,  towards  the  south,  six 
miles.  On  the  east  there  was  no  causeway,  and  the  city  could  be  ap- 
proached only  by  canoes.  In  each  of  these  causeways  were  openings 
at  proper  intervals,  through  which  the  waters  flowed,  and  over  these 
beams  of  timber  were  laid,  which  being  covered  with  earth,  the 
causeway  or  street  had  everywhere  a  uniform  appearance.  As  the 
approaches  to  the  city  were  singular,  its  construction  was  remark- 
able. Not  only  the  tem- 
ples of  their  gods,  but 
the  houses  belonging  to 
the  monarch,  and  to 
persons  of  distinction, 
were  of  such  dimensions, 
that,  in  comparison  with 
any  other  buildings 
which  hitherto  had  been 
discovered  in  America, 
they  might  be  termed 
magnificent.  The  habi- 
tations of  the  common 
people  were  mean,  re- 
sembling the  huts  of 
other  Indians.  But  they 
were  all  placed  in  a  regu- 
lar manner,  on  the  banks 
of  the  canals  which 
passed  through  the  city,  in  some  of  its  districts,  or  on  the  sides  of  the 
streets  which  intersected  it  in  other  quarters.  In  several  places 
were  large  openings  or  squares,  one  of  which,  allotted  for  the  great 
market,  is  said  to  have  been  so  spacious,  that  forty  or  fifty  thou- 
sand persons  carried  on  traffic  there.  In  this  cit}r,  the  pride  of  the 
New  World,  and  the  noblest  monument  of  the  industry  and  art  of 
man,  while  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,  and  destitute  of  aid 
from  any  domestic  animal,  the  Spaniards,  who  are  most  moderate 
in  their  computations,  reckon  that  there  were  at  least  sixty  thou- 
sand inhabitants. 

But  how  much  soever  the  novelty  of  those  objects  might  amuse 


DETAIL    FROM    THE    EASTERN    FACADE    OF    THE    PALACE   OF   THE    NUNS    AT    UXMAL. 

Example  of  Maya  architecture,  which  in  the  absence  of  an  Aztec  building  of  prominence 
now  remaining,  and  to  which  it  was  closely  allied,  will  show  the  richness  of  the  decorations 
of  the  public  buildings  in  Mexico.     See  also  page  494. 


THE   CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


497 


or  astonish  the  Spaniards,  they  felt  the  utmost  solicitude  with  re- 
spect to  their  own  situation.  From  a  concurrence  of  circumstances, 
no  less  unexpected,  than  favorable  to  their  progress,  they  had  been 
allowed  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  a  powerful  kingdom,  and 
were  now  lodged  in  its  capital,  without  having  once  met  with  open 
opposition  from  its  monarch.  The  Tlascalans,  however,  had  earn- 
estly dissuaded  them  from  placing  such  confidence  in  Montezuma, 
as  to  enter  a  city  of  such  a  peculiar  situation  as  Mexico,  where  that 
prince  would  have  them  at  mercy,  shut  up  as  it  were  in 
a  snare,  from  which  it  was  impossible  to  escape.  They 
assured  them,  that  the  Mexican  priests  had,  in  the  name 
of  the  gods,  counselled  their  sovereign  to  admit  the  Span- 
iards into  the  capital,  that  he  might  cut  them  off  there 
at  one  blow  with  perfect  security.  They  now  perceived, 
too  plainly,  that  the  apprehensions  of  their  allies  were 
not  destitute  of  foundation  ;  that,  by  breaking  the  bridges 
placed  at  certain  intervals  on  the  causeways,  or  by  destroy- 
ing part  of  the  causeways  themselves,  their  retreat  would 
be  rendered  impracticable,  and  they  must  remain  cooped 
tip  in  the  center  of  a  hostile  city,  surrounded  by  multi- 
tudes sufficient  to  overwhelm  them,  and  without  a  possi- 
bility of  receiving  aid  from  their  allies.  Montezuma  had, 
indeed,  received  them  with  distinguished  respect.  But 
ought  they  to  reckon  upon  this  as  real,  or  to  consider  it  as 
feigned  ?  Even  if  it  were  sincere,  could  they  promise  on 
its  continuance  ?  Their  safety  depended  upon  the  will  of 
a  monarch,  in  whose  attachment  they  had  no  reason  to 
confide ;  and  an  order  flowing  from  his  caprice,  or  a  word 
uttered  by  him  in  passion,  might  decide  irrevocably  con- 
cerning their  fate. 

These  reflections,  so  obvious  as  to  occur  to  the  meanest  soldier, 
did  not  escape  the  vigilant  sagacity  of  their  general.  Before  he 
set  out  from  Cholula,  Cortes  had  received  advice  from  Villa  Rica, 
that  Oualpopoca,  one  of  the  Mexican  generals  on  the  frontiers, 
having  assembled  an  army  in  order  to  attack  some  of  the  people 
whom  the  Spaniards  had  encouraged  to  throw  off  the  Mexican  yoke, 
Escalante  had  marched  out  with  part  of  the  garrison  to  support  his 
allies  ;  that  an  engagement  had  ensued,  in  which,  though  the  Span- 
iards were  victorious,  Escalante,  with  seven  of  his  men,  had  been 


QUETZALCOATL    OR    CUCULCAN. 

A  terrestrial  hero  who  became 
deified,  after  his  death,  as  sky- 
god  and  culture  hero  ;  the  repre- 
sentative of  light,  opposed  Co  the 
god  of  darkness,  Tezcatlipoca. 
Quetzalcoatl,  though  worshipped 
as  the  promoter  of  fertility,  still 
held  celibacy  in  honor,  and  nouses 
of  nuns  were  consecrated  to  him. 


49§ 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


mortally  wounded,  his  horse  killed,  and  one  Spaniard  had  been 
surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  taken  alive ;  that  the  head  of  this 
unfortunate  captive,  after  being  carried  in  triumph  to  different 
cities,  in  order  to  convince  the  people  that  their  invaders  were  not 
immortal,  had  been  sent  to  Mexico.  Cortes,  though  alarmed  with 
this  intelligence,  as  an  indication  of  Montezuma's  hostile  inten- 
tions, had  continued  his  march.  But  as  soon  as  he  entered  Mexico, 
he  became  sensible,  that,  from  an  excess  of  confidence  in  the  supe- 
rior valor  and  discipline  of  his  troops,  as  well  as  from  the  disad- 
vantage of  having  nothing  to  guide  him 
j  in  an  unknown  country,  but  the  defective 
intelligence  which  he  had  received  from 
people  with  whom  his  mode  of  communi- 
cation was  very  imperfect,  he  had  pushed 
forward  into  a  situation,  where  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  continue,  and  from  which  it  was 
dangerous  to  retire.  Disgrace,  and  per- 
haps ruin,  was  the  certain  consequence  of 
attempting  the  latter.  The  success  of  his 
enterprise  depended  upon  supporting  the 
high  opinion  which  the  people  of  New 
Spain  had  formed  with  respect  to  the  irre- 
sistible power  of  his  arms.  Upon  the  first 
symptom  of  timidity,  on  his  part,  their 
veneration  would  cease,  and  Montezuma, 
whom  fear  alone  restrained  at  present, 
would  let  loose  upon  him  the  whole 
force  of  his  empire.  At  the  same  time, 
he  knew  that  the  countenance  of  his  own 
sovereign  was  to  be  obtained  only  by  a  series  of  victories,  and 
that  nothing  but  the  merit  of  extraordinary  success  could  screen 
his  conduct  from  the  censure  of  irregularity.  From  all  these 
considerations,  it  was  necessary  to  maintain  his  station,  and  to 
extricate  himself  out  of  the  difficulties  in  which  one  bold  step 
had  involved  him,  by  venturing  upon  another  still  bolder.  The 
situation  was  trying,  but  his  mind  was  equal  to  it ;  and  after  re- 
volving the  matter  with  deep  attention,  he  fixed  upon  a  plan 
no  less  extraordinary  than  daring.  He  determined  to  seize 
Montezuma  in  his  palace,  and  to  carry  him  as  a  prisoner  to  the 


_T-*>sS;r^ 


MONTEZUMA'S  GENERAL.  QUALPOPOCA,  ENGAGES  ESCALANTE  AND  HIS 
MEXICAN  ALLIES. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


499 


Spanish  quarters.  From  the  superstitious  veneration  of  the  Mexi- 
cans for  the  person  of  their  monarch,  as  well  as  their  implicit  sub- 
mission to  his  will,  he  hoped,  by  having  Montezuma  in  his  power, 
to  acquire  the  supreme  direction  of  their  affairs  ;  or,  at  least,  with 
such  a  sacred  pledge  in  his  hands,  he  made  no  doubt  of  being 
secure  from  any  effort  of  their  violence. 

This  he  immediately  proposed  to  his  officers.  The  timid 
startled  at  a  measure  so  audacious,  and  raised  objections.  The 
more  intelligent  and  resolute,  conscious  that  it  was  the  only  re- 
source in  which  there  appeared  any  prospect  of  safety,  warmly  ap- 
proved of  it,  and  brought  over  their  companions  so  cordially  to  the 
same  opinion,  that  it  was  agreed  instantly  to  make  the  attempt. 
At  his  usual  hour  of  visiting  Montezuma,  Cortes  went  to  the 
palace,  accompanied  by  Alvarado, 
Sandoval,  Lugo,  Velasquez  de  Leon, 
and  Davila,  five  of  his  principal  offi- 
cers, and  as  many  trusty  soldiers. 
Thirty  chosen  men  followed,  not  in 
regular  order,  but  sauntering  at 
some  distance,  as  if  they  had  no  ob- 
ject but  curiosity  ;  small  parties  were 
posted  at  proper  intervals,  in  all  the 
streets  leading  from  the  Spanish 
quarters  to  the  court;  and  the  re- 
mainder of  his  troops,  with  the  Tlas- 
calan  allies,  were  under  arms,  ready 
to  sally  out  on  the  first  alarm.  Cor- 
tes and  his  attendants  were  admitted 
without  suspicion;  the  Mexicans  re- 
tiring, as  usual,  out  of  respect.  He 
addressed  the  monarch  in  a  tone  very 
different  from  that  which  he  had  em- 
ployed in  former  conferences,  re- 
proaching him  bitterly  as  the  author 
of  the  violent  assault  made  upon  the 
Spaniards  by  one  of  his  officers,  and 
demanded  public  reparation  for  the 
loss  which  they  had  sustained  by 
the    death    of    some    of    their    com- 


28 


THE    EMPEROR    MONTEZUMA. 

FROM    THE    BNGRAVING   IN    NIEUWE    EN    ONBEKENDE    WEERELO,    BY    MONTANUS. 


5oo 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO. 


SCULPTURE  FROM  COPAN  TO  SHOW  DRESS, 
ARMOR,   AND  ORNAMENTS. 

A  male  figure  at  the  foot  of  an 
altar;  head  covered  with  helmet, 
in  imitation  of  some  fanciful  ani- 
mal, with  gold  appendages:  the 
excessively  large  ears  are  symbols 
of  a  high  station  ;  breast  covered 
with  armor,  upper  part  of  which 
is  made  of  balls,  and  lower  part 
of  some  woven  stuffs  :  arms,  legs, 
and  neck  ornamented  with  bands 
and  rings. 


panions,  as  well  as  for  the  insult  offered  to  the  great  prince 
whose  servants  they  were.  Montezuma,  confounded  at  this 
unexpected  accusation,  and  changing  color,  either  from  con- 
sciousness of  guilt,  or  from  feeling  the  indignity  with  which 
he  was  treated,  asserted  his  own  innocence,  with  great 
earnestness,  and,  as  a  proof  of  it,  gave  orders  instantly  to 
bring  Oualpopoca  and  his  accomplices  prisoners  to  Mexico. 
Cortes  replied,  with  seeming  complaisance,  that  a  declara- 
tion so  respectable  left  no  doubt  remaining  in  his  own 
mind,  but  that  something  more  was  requisite  to  satisfy  his 
followers,  who  would  never  be  convinced  that  Montezuma 
did  not  harbor  hostile  intentions  against  them,  unless,  as 
an  evidence  of  his  confidence  and  attachment,  he  removed 
from  his  own  palace,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  the 
Spanish  quarters,  where  he.  should  be 
served  and  honored  as  became  a  great 
monarch.  The  first  mention  of  so 
strange  a  proposal  bereaved  Monte- 
zuma of  speech,  and  almost  of  motion. 
At  length,  indignation  gave  him  utter- 
ance, and  he  haughtily  answered, 
"That  persons  of  his  rank  were  not 
accustomed  voluntarily  to  give  up 
themselves  as  prisoners;  and  were  he 
mean  enough  to  do  so,  his  subjects 
would  not  permit  such  an  affront  to 
be  offered  to  their  sovereign."    Cortes, 


unwilling  to  employ  force,  endeavored 
alternately  to  soothe  and  to  intimidate  him. 
The  altercation  became  warm ;  and  having 
continued  above  three  hours,  Velasquez  de 
Leon,  an  impetuous  and  gallant  young  man, 
exclaimed  with  impatience,  "Why  waste 
more  time  in  vain?  Let  us  either  seize  him 
instantly,  or  stab  him  to  the  heart."  The 
threatening  voice  and  fierce  gestures  with 
which  these  words  were  uttered,  struck  Monte- 
zuma. The  Spaniards,  he  was  sensible,  had 
now  proceeded  so  far,  as  left  him  no  hope  that 


SCULPTURE    FROM  COPAN  TO  SHOW  DRES3 
AND  ORNAMENTS. 

Female  figure;  the  short  dress 
ornamented  with  a  net,  bordered 
with  pearls  and  fringe;  a  girdle, 
similarly  made,  encircles  her 
waist;  a  broad  strip  of  cloth,  cov- 
ered with  gold  and  pearls,  falls 
from  it  to  the  ground  ;  an  exquisite 
head-dress  of  feathers  covers  the 
figure  ;  the  bare  arms  ornamented 
with  bands,  the  breast  covered 
with  jewelry,  reaching  to  the 
shoulders. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  501 

they  would  recede.  His  own  danger  was  now  imminent,  the  neces- 
sity unavoidable.  He  saw  both,  and  abandoning  himself  to  his  fate, 
complied  with  their  request. 

His  officers  were  called.  He  communicated  to  them  his  reso- 
lution. Though  astonished  and  afflicted,  they  presumed  not  to 
question  the  will  of  their  master,  but  carried  him  in  silent  pomp, 
all  bathed  in  tears,  to  the  Spanish  quarters.  When  it  was  known 
that  the  strangers  were  conveying  away  the  emperor,  the  people 
broke  out  into  the  wildest  transports  of  grief  and  rage,  threaten- 
ing the  Spaniards  with  immediate  destruction,  as  the  punishment 
justly  due  to  their  impious  audacity.  But  as  soon  as  Montezuma 
appeared,  with  a  seeming  gayety  of  countenance,  and  waved  his 
hand,  the  tumult  was  hushed  ;  and  upon  his  declaring  it  to  be  of 
his  own  choice  that  he  went  to  reside  for  some  time  among  his  new 
friends,  the  multitude,  taught  to  revere  every  intimation  of  their 
sovereign's  pleasure,  quietlv  dispersed. 

Thus  was  a  powerful  prince  seized  by  a  few  strangers  in  the 
midst  of  his  capital,  at  noonday,  and  carried  off  as  a  prisoner,  with- 
out opposition  or  bloodshed.  History  contains  nothing  parallel  to 
this  event,  either  with  respect  to  the  temerity  of  the  attempt,  or 
the  success  of  the  execution  ;  and  were  not  all  the  circumstances  of 
this  extraordinary  transaction  authenticated  by  the  most  unques- 
tionable evidence,  they  would  appear  so  wild  and  extravagant,  as  to 
go  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  that  probabilit)*-  which  must  be  pre- 
served even  in  fictitious  narrations. 


- 


*i  & 


CHAPTER   LVII. 


INDIGNITIES    HEAPED    UPON     MONTEZUMA.     ACKNOWLEDGES     HIMSELF    A    VASSAL    OF    SPAIN 
f^*y,  MEXICAN   SCHEMES   FOR    LIBERATION. 


ONTEZUMA  was  received  in  the  Spanish 
quarters  with  all  the  ceremonious  respect 
which  Cortes  had  promised.  He  was  at- 
tended by  his  own  domestics,  and  served 
with  his  usual  state.  His  principal  officers 
had  free  access  to  him,  and  he  carried  on 
every  function  of  government  as  if  he 
had  been  at  perfect  liberty.  The  Spaniards,  however,  watched 
him  with  the  scrupulous  vigilance  which  was  natural  in  guard- 
ing such  an  important  prize,  endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to 
soothe  and  reconcile  him  to  his  situation,  by  every  external  de- 
monstration of  regard  and  attachment.  But  from  captive  princes, 
the  hour  of  humiliation  and  suffering  is  never  far  distant.  Qual- 
popoca,  his  son,  and  five  of  the  principal  officers  who  served 
under  him,  were  brought  prisoners  to  the  capital  [Dec.  4],  in 
consequence  of  the  orders  which  Montezuma  had  issued.  The 
emperor  gave  them  up  to  Cortes,  that  he  might  inquire  into  the 
nature  of  their  crime,  and  determine  their  punishment.  They 
were  formally  tried  by  a  Spanish  court-martial ;  and  though  they 
had  acted  no  other  part  than  what  became  loyal  subjects  and  brave 
men,  in  obeying  the  orders  of  their  lawful  sovereign,  and  in  oppos- 
ing the  invaders  of  their  country,  they  were  condemned  to  be  burnt 
alive.  The  execution  of  such  atrocious  deeds  is  seldom  long  sus- 
pended.    The  unhappy  victims  were  instantly  led  forth.     The  pile 


(5°21 


(5°3) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  505 

on  which  they  were  laid  was  composed  of  weapons  collected  in 
the  royal  magazine  for  the  public  defense.  An  innumerable  multi- 
tude of  Mexicans  beheld,  in  silent  astonishment,  the  double  insult 
offered  to  the  majesty  of  their  empire,  an  officer  of  distinction  com- 
mitted to  the  flames  by  the  authority  of  strangers,  for  having  done 
what  he  owed  in  duty  to  his  natural  sovereign  ;  and  the  arms  pro- 
vided by  the  foresight  of  their  ancestors  for  avenging  public  wrongs, 
consumed  before  their  eyes. 

But  these  were  not  the  most  shocking  indignities  which  the 
Mexicans  had  to  bear.  The  Spaniards,  convinced  that  Qualpopoca 
would  not  have  ventured  to  attack  Escalante  without  orders  from 
his  master,  were  not  satisfied  with  inflicting  vengeance  on  the  in- 
strument employed  in  committing  that  crime  while  the  author  of 
it  escaped  with  impunity.  Just  before  Qualpopoca  was  led  out  to 
suffer,  Cortes  entered  the  apartment  of  Montezuma,  followed  by 
some  of  his  officers,  and  a  soldier  carrying  a  pair  of  fetters ;  and 
approaching  the  monarch  with  a  stern  countenance  told  him,  that 
as  the  persons  who  were  now  to  undergo  the  punishment  which 
they  merited,  had  charged  him  as  the  cause  of  the  outrage  commit- 
ted, it  was  necessary  that  he  likewise  should  make  atonement  for 
that  guilt ;  then  turning  away  abruptly,  without  waiting  for  a  re- 
ply, commanded  the  soldier  to  clap  the  fetters  on  his  legs.  The 
orders  were  instantly  executed.  The  disconsolate  monarch,  trained 
up  with  an  idea  that  his  person  was  sacred  and  inviolable,  and  con- 
sidering this  profanation  of  it  as  the  prelude  of  immediate  death, 
broke  out  into  loud  lamentations  and  complaints.  His  attendants, 
speechless  with  horror,  fell  at  his  feet,  bathing  them  with  their 
tears ;  and,  bearing  up  the  fetters  in  their  hands,  endeavored  with 
officious  tenderness  to  lighten  their  pressure.  Nor  did  their  grief 
and  despondency  abate,  until  Cortes  returned  from  the  execution, 
and  with  a  cheerful  countenance  ordered  the  fetters  to  be  taken 
off.  As  Montezuma's  spirits  had  sunk  with  unmanly  dejection, 
they  now  rose  into  indecent  joy ;  and  with  an  unbecoming  transi- 
tion, he  passed  at  once  from  the  anguish  of  despair  to  transports 
of  gratitude  and  expressions  of  fondness  towards  his  deliverer. 

In  those  transactions,  as  represented  by  the  Spanish  historians, 
we  search  in  vain  for  the  qualities  which  distinguish  other  parts  of 
Cortes's  conduct.  To  usurp  a  jurisdiction  which  could  not  belong 
to  a  stranger  who  assumed  no  higher  character  than  that  of  an 


506 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


ambassador  from  a  foreign  prince,  and,  under  color  of  it,  to  inflict 
a  capital  punishment  on  men  whose  conduct  entitled  them  to  es- 
teem, appears  an  act  of  barbarous  cruelty.  To  put  the  monarch  of 
a  great  kingdom  in  irons,  and,  after  such  ignominious  treatment, 
suddenly  to  release  him,  seems  to  be  a  display  of  power  no  less  in- 
considerate than  wanton.  According  to  the  common  relation,  no 
account  can  be  given  either  of  the  one  action  or  the  other,  but  that 
Cortes,  intoxicated  with  success,  and  presuming  on  the  ascendant 
which  he  had  acquired  over  the  minds  of  the  Mexicans,  thought 
nothing  too  bold  for  him  to  undertake,  or  too  dangerous  to  execute. 
But,  in  one  view,  these  procceedings,  however  repugnant  to  justice 
and  humanity,  niay  have  flowed  from  that  artful  policy  which  reg- 
ulated every  part  of  Cortes'  behavior  towards  the  Mexicans.  They 
had  conceived  the  Spaniards  to  be  of  an  order  of  beings  superior  to 
men.  It  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  cherish  this  illusion, 
and  to  keep  up  the  veneration  which  it  inspired.  Cortes  wished 
that  shedding  the  blood  of  a  Spaniard  should  be  deemed  the  most 
heinous  of  all  crimes ;  and  nothing  appeared  better  calculated  to 
establish  this  opinion,  than  to  condemn  the  first  Mexicans  who 
had  ventured  to  commit  it  to  a  cruel  death,  and  to  oblige  their 
monarch  himself  to  submit  to  a  mortifying  indignity  as  an  ex- 
piation  for  being  accessory  to  a  deed  so  atrocious. 

The  rigor  with  which  Cor- 
tes punished  the  unhappy 
persons  who  first  presumed 
to  lay  violent  hands  upon 
his  followers,  seems  accord- 
ingly to  have  made  all  the 
impression  that  he  desired. 
The  spirit  of  Montezuma 
was  not  only  overawed,  but 
subdued.  During  six  months 
that  Cortes  remained  in 
Mexico,  the  monarch  con- 
tinued in  the  Spanish  quar- 
ters with  an  appearance  of  as 
entire  satisfaction  and  tran- 
quillity as  if  he  had  resided 
there  not  from  constraint,  but 


PANEL    IN    THE    HEAR    OF    THE    ALTAR    OF    THE    TEMPLE    OF    THE    SUN,   AT    TIKAL. 
THE     FIOURE    SHOWS    AN    OFFICER    OR    DIGNITARY    OF    HIGH    RANK. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  507 

through  choice.  His  ministers  and  officers  attended  him  as  usual. 
He  took  cognizance  of  all  affairs ;  every  order  was  issued  in  his 
name.  The  external  aspect  of  government  appearing  the  same, 
and  all  its  ancient  forms  being  scrupulously  observed,  the  people 
were  so  little  sensible  of  any  change,  that  they  obe}'ed  the  mandates 
of  their  monarch  with  the  same  submissive  reverence  as  ever.  Such 
was  the  dread  which  both  Montezuma  and  his  subjects  had  of  the 
Spaniards,  or  such  the  veneration  in  which  they  held  them,  that  no 
attempt  was  made  to  deliver  their  sovereign  from  confinement ;  and 
though  Cortes,  reiving  on  this  ascendant  which  he  had  acquired 
over  their  minds,  permitted  him  not  only  to  visit  his  temples,  but 
to  make  hunting  excursions  beyond  the  lake,  a  guard  of  a  few 
Spaniards  carried  with  it  such  a  terror  as  to  intimidate  the  multi- 
tude, and  secure  the  captive  monarch. 

Thus,  by  the  fortunate  temerity  of  Cortes  in  seizing  Monte- 
zuma, the  Spaniards  at  once  secured  to  themselves  more  extensive 
authority  in  the  Mexican  Empire  than  it  was  possible  to  have  ac- 
quired in  a  long  course  of  time  by  open  force;  and  they  exercised 
more  absolute  sway  in  the  name  of  another;  than  they  could  have 
done  in  their  own.  The  arts  of  polished  nations,  in  subjecting 
such  as  are  less  improved,  have  been  nearly  the  same  in  every 
period.  The  system  of  screening  a  foreign  usurpation,  under  the 
sanction  of  authority  derived  from  the  natural  rulers  of  a  country, 
the  device  of  employing  the  magistrates  and  forms  already  estab- 
lished as  instruments  to  introduce  a  new  dominion,  of  which  we 
are  apt  to  boast  as  sublime  refinements  in  policy  peculiar  to  the 
present  age,  were  inventions  of  a  more  early  period,  and  had  been 
tried  with  success  in  the  West,  long  before  they  were  practiced  in 
the  East. 

Cortes  availed  himself  to  the  utmost  of  the  powers  which  he 
possessed  by  being   able   to   act   in    the  name  :£&&^^¥£?^^Z^.~~~~ 
of    Montezuma.       He    sent    some    Spaniards, 
whom  he  judged  best  qualified  for  such  com-  ] 
missions,   into  different  parts  of  the  empire,   \ 

accompanied  by  persons  of  distinction,  whom  \  .,■■..  -yjr  ■  <^w  jM 
Montezuma  appointed  to  attend  them,  both  as  ^  V  j^li^/l^alffin 
guides   and    protectors.       They    visited    most  ] 

of  the  provinces,  viewed  their  soil  and  pro-  BBfl|  8fr;J^)KJSH 
ductions,  surveyed    with    particular   care    the  I 


THE  VOLCANOS  POPOCATEPETL  AND  IZTACCJHUATL,  FROM  WHERE  THE 
SPANIARDS  PROCURED  SULPHUR  FOR  THEIR  GUNPOWDER. 


5°S 


THE.  CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


MEXICAN    TAMANES   OR    PORTERS 


districts  which  yielded  gold  or  silver,  pitched  upon  several 
places  as  proper  stations  for  future  colonies,  and  endeavored  to 
prepare  the  minds  of  the  people  for  submitting  to  the  Spanish 
yoke.  While  they  were  thus  employed,  Cortes,  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  Montezuma,  degraded  some  of  the  principal  offi- 
cers in  the  empire,  whose  abilities  or  independent  spirit  excited  his 
jealousy,  and  substituted  in  their  place  persons  less  capable  or 
more  obsequious. 

One  thing  still  was  wanting  to  complete  his  security.  He 
wished  to  have  such  command  of  the  lake  as  might  ensure  a  retreat, 
if,  either  from  levity  or  disgust,  the  Mexicans  should  take  arms 
against  him,  and  break  down  the  bridges  or  causeways.  This,  too, 
his  own  address,  and  the  facility  of  Montezuma,  enabled  him 
to  accomplish.  Having  frequently  entertained  his  prisoner 
with  pompous  accounts  of  the  European  marine  and  art  of  navi- 
gation, he  awakened  his  curiosity  to  see  those  moving 
palaces  which  made  their  way  through  the  water 
without  oars.  Under  pretext  of  gratifying  this 
desire,  Cortes  persuaded  Montezuma  to  appoint  some 
of  his  subjects  to  fetch  part  of  the  naval  stores  which 
the  Spaniards  had  deposited  at  Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico, 
and  to  employ  others  in  cutting  down  and  preparing 
timber.  With  their  assistance,  the  Spanish  carpenters  soon 
completed  two  brigantines,  which  afforded  a  frivolous  amuse- 
ment to  the  monarch,  and  were  considered  by  Cortes  as  a  cer- 
tain resource  if  he  should  be  obliged  to  retire. 
Encouraged  by  so  many  instances  of  the  monarch's  tame  sub- 
mission to  his  will,  Cortes  ventured  to  put  it  to  a  proof  still  more 
trying.  He  urged  Montezuma  to  acknowledge  himself  a  vassal  of 
the  king  of  Castile,  to  hold  his  crown  of  him  as  superior,  and  to 
subject  his  dominions  to  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute.  With 
this  requisition,  the  last  and  most  humbling  that  can  be  made  to 
one  possessed  of  sovereign  authority,  Montezuma  was  so  obsequious 
as  to  comply.  He  called  together  the  chief  men  of  his  empire,  and 
in  a  solemn  harangue,  reminding  them  of  the  traditions  and 
prophecies  which  led  them  to  expect  the  arrival  of  a  people  sprung 
from  the  same  stock  with  themselves,  in  order  to  take  possession 
of  the  supreme  power,  he  declared  his  belief  that  the  Spaniards 
were  this  promised  race ;  that  therefore  he  recognized  the  right  of 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


509 


their  monarch  to  govern  the  Mexican  empire ;  that  he  would  lay 
his  crown  at  his  feet,  and  obey  him  as  a  tributary.  While  uttering 
these  words,  Montezuma  discovered  how  deeply  he  was  affected  in 
making  such  a  sacrifice.  Tears  and  groans  frequently  interrupted 
his  discourse.  Overawed  and  broken  as  his  spirit  was,  it  still  re- 
tained such  a  sense  of  dignity,  as  to  feel  that  pang  which  pierces 
the  heart  of  princes  when  constrained  to  resign  independent  power. 
The  first  mention  of  such  a  resolution  struck  the  assembly  dumb 
with  astonishment.  This  was  followed  by  a  sudden  murmur  of 
sorrow,  mingled  with  indignation,  which  indicated  some  violent 
irruption  of  rage  to  be  near 
at  hand.  This  Cortes  fore- 
saw, and  seasonably  inter- 
posed to  prevent  it  by  de- 
claring that  his  master  had 
no  intention  to  deprive 
Montezuma  of  the  royal 
dignity,  or  to  make  any  in- 
novation upon  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  Mexi- 
can empire.  This  assurance, 
added  to  their  dread  of  the 
Spanish  power,  and  to  the 
authority  of  their  monarch's 
example,  extorted  a  reluctant 
consent  from  the  assembly. 
The  act  of  submission  and 
homage  was  executed  with 
all  the  formalities  which  the 
Spaniards  were  pleased  to 
prescribe. 

Montezuma,  at  the  de- 
sire of  Cortes,  accompanied 
this  profession  of  fealty  and 
.homage  with  a  magnificent 
present  to  his  new  sover- 
eign ;  and,  after  his  example, 
his  subjects  brought  in  very 
liberal    contributions.      The 


CORTES    DECLARES    BEFORE   THE   ASSEMBLED    MEXICAN    NOBLES   THAT    HIS    MASTER    DOES    NOT    INTEND 
TO    DEPRIVE    MONTEZUMA    OF    HIS    DIGNITIES. 


510  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

Spaniards  now  collected  all  the  treasures  which  had  been  either 
voluntarily  bestowed  upon  them  at  different  times  by  Monte- 
zuma, or  had  been  extorted  from  his  people  under  various  pre- 
texts ;  and  having  melted  the  gold  and  silver,  the  value  of 
these,  without  including  jewels  and  ornaments  of  various  kinds, 
which  were  preserved  on  account  of  their  curious  workmanship, 
amounted  to  six  hundred  thousand  pesos.  The  soldiers  were  impa- 
tient to  have  it  divided,  and  Cortes  complied  with  their  desire.  A 
fifth  of  the  whole  was  first  set  apart  as  the  tax  due  the  king. 
Another  fifth  was  allotted  to  Cortes  as  commander  in  chief.  The 
sums  advanced  by  Velasquez,  by  Cortes,  and  by  some  of  the  officers, 
towards  defraying  the  expense  of  fitting  out  the  armament,  were 
then  deducted.  The  remainder  was  divided  among  the  arrny,  in- 
cluding the  garrison  of  Vera  Cruz,  in  proportion  to  their  different 
ranks.  After  so  man}"  defalcations,  the  share  of  a  private  man  did 
not  exceed  a  hundred  pesos.  This  sum  fell  so  far  below  their  san- 
guine expectations,  that  some  soldiers  rejected  it  with  scorn,  and 
others  murmured  so  loudly  at  this  cruel  disappointment  of  their 
hopes,  that  it  required  all  the  address  of  Cortes,  and  no  small  exer- 
tion of  his  liberality,  to  appease  them.  The  complaints  of  the 
army  were  not  altogether  destitute  of  foundation.  As  the  crown 
had  contributed  nothing  towards  the  equipment  or  success  of  the 
armament,  it  was  not  without  regret  that  the  soldiers  beheld  it 
sweep  away  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  treasure  purchased  by 
their  blood  and  toil.  What  fell  to  the  share  of  the  general  ap- 
peared, according  to  the  ideas  of  wealth  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
an  enormous  sum.  Some  of  Cortes'  favorites  had  secretly  appro- 
priated to  their  own  use  several  ornaments  of  gold,  which  neither 
paid  the  royal  fifth,  nor  were  brought  into  account  as  part  of  the 
common  stock.  It  was,  however,  so  manifestly  the  interest  of 
Cortes,  at  this  period,  to  make  a  large  remittance  to  the  king,  that 
it  is  highly  probable  those  concealments  were  not  of  great  conse- 
quence. 

The  total  sum  amassed  by  the  Spaniards  bears  no  proportion 
to  the  ideas  which  might  be  formed,  either  by  reflecting  on  the  de- 
scriptions given  by  historians  of  the  ancient  splendor  of  Mexico, 
or  by  considering  the  productions  of  its  mines  in  modern  times. 
But  among  the  ancient  Mexicans,  gold  and  silver  were  not  the 
standards  by  which  the  worth  of  other  commodities  was  estimated ; 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


511 


and  destitute  of  the  artificial  value  derived  from  this  circumstance, 
were  no   further  in   request  than  as  they   furnished  materials  for 
ornaments   and   trinkets.       These  were  either  consecrated    to  the 
gods   in   their   temples,   or  were  worn   as  marks  of  distinction  by 
their  princes  and  some  of  their  most  eminent  chiefs.     As  the  con- 
sumption of  the  precious  metal  was  inconsiderable,  the  demand  for 
them  was  not  such  as  to  put  either  the  ingenuity  or  industry  of  the 
Mexicans  on   the  stretch,  in  order  to  augment   their  store.     They 
were  altogether   unacquainted  with  the  art   of  working  the  rich 
mines  with  which  their  country  abounded.     What  gold  they  had 
was  gathered  in  the  beds  of  rivers,  native,  and  ripened  into  a  pure 
metallic  state.     The  utmost  effort  of  their  labor  in  search  of  it  was 
to  wash  the  earth  carried  down  by  torrents  from  the  mountains, 
and  to  pick  out  the  grains  of  gold  which  subsided;  and  even  this 
simple  operation,   according  to   the   report  of  the   persons  whom 
Cortes  appointed  to  survey  the  provinces  where  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  finding  mines,  they  performed  very  uuskillfully.    From  all 
those  causes,  the  whole  mass  of  gold  in  possession  of  the  Mexicans 
was  not  great.    As  silver  is  rarely  found  pure,  and  the  Mexican  art 
was  too  rude  to  conduct  the  process  for  refining  it  in  a  proper  man- 
ner, the  quantity  of  this  metal  was  still  less  considerable.     Thus, 
though  the    Spaniards  had  ex- 
erted all  the  power  which  they    K;4 
possessed  in   Mexico,  and  often 
with  indecent  rapacity,  in  order 
to    gratify    their    predominant 
passion,     and    though    Monte- 
zuma had  fondly  exhausted  his 
treasures,  in  hopes  of  satiating 
their  thirst  for  gold,  the  product 
of    both,    which    probablv    in- 
cluded a  great  part  of  the  bullion 
in  the  empire,  did  not  rise   in 
value  above  what  has  been  men- 
tioned. 

But  however  pliant  Monte- 
zuma might  be  in  other  matters, 
with  respect  to  one  point  he  was 
inflexible.   Though  Cortes  often 


PRIESTS,  WITH    QUETZALCOATL'S   EMBLEM    IN    HAND,    OFFICIATING    BEFORE   AN   ALTAR. 
SCULPTURED    LINTEL    FROM    LORILLARD,  YUCATAN. 

The  Aztecs  recognized  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Creator,  and  Lord  of  the 
universe.  They  addressed  him.  in  their  prayers,  "as  the  God  by  whom  we 
live,"  "omnipresent,  that  knoweth  all  thoughts,  and  giveth  all  gifts,'  "without 
whom  man  is  as  nothing,"  "  invisible,  incorporeal,  one  God,  of  perfect  perfection 
and  purity,"  "under  whose  wings  we  find  repose  and  sure  defense.  '  These 
sublime  attributes  infer  no  inadequate  conception  of  the  true  God.  But  the  idea 
of  unity — of  a  being,  with  whom  volition  is  action,  who  has  no  need  of  inferior 
ministers  to  execute  his  purposes — was  too  simple  or  too  vast,  for_ their  under- 
standings, and  they  sought  relief,  as  usual,  in  a  plurality  of  deities,  who  pr~ 
sided  over  the  elements,  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  the  various  occup»Hon» 
of  man. — Prescott,  Conquest,  Vol.  I.  fc 


512 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


-^Mkm 


wM< 


,j».j 


CORTES  OVERTHROW 
A  MEXICAN  ALTAR  0 

THE  TOP  OF   THE 

GREAT    TEOCAIU, 
ERECTING    IN   ITS   STEAD   AN    IMAGE    OF 
THE    VIRGIN    MARY 


urged  him,  with  the  importunate  zeal  of  a  missionary,  to  renounce 
his  false  gods,  and  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith,  he  always  re- 
jected the  proposition  with  horror.  Superstition,  among  the  Mexi- 
cans, was  formed  into  such  a  regular  and  complete  system,  that  its 
institutions  naturally  took  fast  hold  of  the  mind ;  and  while  the 
rude  tribes  in  other  parts  of  America  were  easily  induced  to  relin- 
quish a  few  notions  and  rites,  so  loose  and  arbitrary  as  hardly  to 
merit  the  name  of  a  public  religion,  the  Mexicans  adhered  tena- 
ciously to  their  mode  of  worship,  which,  however  barbarous,  was 

accompanied  with  such  order  and  solemnity 
as  to  render  it  an  object  of  the  highest  vener- 
ation. Cortes,  finding  all  his  attempts  in- 
effectual to  shake  the  constancy  of  Monte- 
&,%*  zuma,  was  so  much  enraged  at  his  obstinacy, 
;-:J?^i  that  in  a  transport  of  zeal  he  led  out  his  sol- 
diers to  throw  down  the  idols  in  the  grand 
temple  by  force.  But  the  priests  taking  arms 
in  defense  of  their  altars,  and  the  people 
crowding  with  great  ardor  to  support  them, 
Cortes'  prudence  overruled  his  zeal,  and  in- 
duced him  to  desist  from  his  rash  attempt, 
after  dislodging  the  idols  from  one  of  the 
shrines,  and  placing  in  their  stead  an  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

From  that  moment  the  Mexicans,  who 
had  permitted  the  imprisonment  of  their 
iH  sovereign,  and  suffered  the  exactions  of  stran- 
gers without  a  struggle,  began  to  meditate 
how  they  might  expel  or  destroy  the  Span- 
iards, and  thought  themselves  called  upon  to 
avenge  their  insulted  deities.  The  priests  and  leading  men  held 
frequent  consultations  with  Montezuma  for  this  purpose.  But  as 
it  might  prove  fatal  to  the  captive  monarch  to  attempt  either 
the  one  or  the  other  by  violence,  he  was  willing  to  try  gentle 
means.  Having  called  Cortes  into  his  presence,  he  observed,  that 
now,  as  all  the  purposes  of  his  embassy  were  fully  accomplished, 
the  gods  had  declared  their  will,  and  the  people  signified  their 
desire,  that  he  and  his  followers  should  instantly  depart  out  of  the 
empire.     With  this  he  required  them  to  comply,  or  unavoidable 


i 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


513 


destruction  would  fall  suddenly  on  their  heads.  The  tenor  of  this 
unexpected  requisition,  as  well  as  the  determined  tone  in  which  it 
was  uttered,  left  Cortes  no  room  to  doubt,  that  it  was  the  result  of 
some  deep  scheme  concerted  between  Montezuma  and  his  subjects. 
He  quickly  perceived  that  he  might  derive  more  advantage  from  a 
seeming  compliance  with  the  monarch's  inclination,  than  from  an 
ill-timed  attempt  to  change  or  to  oppose  it ;  and  replied,  with  great 
composure,  that  he  had  already  begun  to  prepare  for  returning  to 
his  own  country ;  but  as  he  had  destroyed  the  vessels  in  which  he 
arrived,  some  time  was  requisite  for  building  other  ships.  This  ap- 
peared reasonable.  A  number  of  Mexicans  were  sent  to  Vera  Cruz 
to  cut  down  timber,  and  some  Spanish  carpenters  were  appointed 
to  superintend  the  work.  Cortes  flattered  himself  that,  during  this 
interval,  he  might  either  find  means  to  avert  the  threatened  danger, 
or  receive  such  reinforcements  as  would  enable  him  to  despise  it. 


FRONT    AND    REAR   VIEW   OF    BUST    OF    A    PRIESTESS,    FOUND   AT    PALENQUE. 


CHAPTER   LVIII. 


CORTES    RECEIVES    NEWS   Or  THE   ARRIVAL  OF   NARVAEZ    SENT  AT  THE    HEAD   OF   A    NEW  ARMA- 
MENT  FITTED   OUT   BY   VELASQUEZ.     ATTEMPTS    NEGOTIATIONS  WITH    HIM,   WHICH 
FAILING,    HE    MARCHES    AGAINST,   AND    UTTERLY    ROUTES    HIM. 
THE    EFFECTS   OF  THIS   VICTORY. 


was 


LMOST  nine  months  were  elapsed 
since  Portoearrero  and  Montejo  had 
sailed  with  his  despatches  to 
Spain  ;  and  he  daily  expected 
their  return  with  a  confirma- 
tion of  his  authority  from  the 
king.  Without  this,  his  condi- 
tion was  insecure  and  precarious ; 
and  after  all  the  great  things 
which  he  had  done,  it  might 
be  his  doom  to  bear  the  name  and 
suffer  the  punishment  of  a  traitor. 
_,.  Rapid  and  extensive  as  his  prog- 
ress had  been,  he  could  not  hope 
to  complete  the  reduction  of  a 
great  empire  with  so  small  a  body 
of  men,  which  by  this  time,  dis- 
eases of  various  kinds  consider- 
ably thinned ;  nor  could  he  apply 
for  recruits  to  the  Spanish  set- 
tlements in  the  islands,  until  he 
received  the  royal  approbation 
of  his  proceedings. 
While  he  remained  in  this  cruel  situation,  anxious  about  what 
past,  uncertain    with  respect   to  the   future,  and,  by  the  late 


SANDOVAL. 
THE  GOVERNOR  OF  VERA  CRUZ. 


(5M) 


THE   CONQUEST   OK    MEXICO.  515 

declaration  of  Montezuma,  oppressed  with  a  new  addition  of  cares, 
a  Mexican  courier  arrived  with  an  account  of  some  ships  having 
appeared  on  the  coast.  Cortes,  with  fond  credulity,  imagining  that 
his  messengers  were  returned  from  Spain,  and  that  the  completion 
of  all  his  wishes  and  hopes  was  at  hand,  imparted  the  glad  tidings 
to  his  companions,  who  received  them  with  transports  of  mutual 
congratulation.  Their  joy  was  not  of  long  continuance.  A  courier 
from  Sandoval,  whom  Cortes  had  appointed  to  succeed  Escalante  in 
command  at  Vera  Cruz,  brought  certain  information  that  the  arma- 
ment was  fitted  out  by  Velasquez,  governor  of  Cuba,  and,  instead 
of  bringing  the  aid  which  they  expected,  threatened  them  with  im- 
mediate destruction. 

The  motives  which  prompted  Velasquez  to  this  violent  meas- 
ure are  obvious.  From  the  circumstances  of  Cortes'  departure, 
it  was  impossible  not  to  suspect  his  intention  of  throwing  off"  all 
dependence  upon  him.  His  neglecting  to  transmit  any  account  of 
his  operations  to  Cuba,  strengthened  this  suspicion,  which  was  at 
last  confirmed  beyond  doubt,  by  the  indiscretion  of  the  officers 
whom  Cortes  sent  to  Spain.  They,  from  some  motive  which  is  not 
clearly  explained  by  the  contemporary  historians,  touched  at  the 
island  of  Cuba,  contrary  to  the  peremptory  orders  of  their  gen- 
eral. By  this  means  Velasquez  not  only  learned  that  Cortes  and 
his  followers,  after  formally  renouncing  all  connection  with  him, 
had  established  an  independent  colony  in  New  Spain,  and  were 
soliciting  the  king  to  confirm  their  proceedings  by  his  authority; 
but  he  obtained  particular  information  concerning  the  opulence  of 
the  country,  the  valuable  presents  which  Cortes  had  received,  and 
the  inviting  prospects  of  success  that  opened  to  his  view.  Every 
passion  which  can  agitate  an  ambitious  mind  ;  shame,  at  having 
been  so  grossly  overreached ;  indignation,  at  being  betrayed  by  the 
man  whom  he  had  selected  as  the  object  of  his  favor  and  confidence ; 
grief,  for  having  wasted  his  fortune  to  aggrandize  an  enemy  ;  and 
despair  of  recovering  so  fair  an  opportunity  of  establishing  his 
fame  and  extending  his  power,  now  raged  in  the  bosom  of  Velas- 
quez. All  these,  with  united  force,  excited  him  to  make  an  extra- 
ordinary effort  in  order  to  be  avenged  on  the  author  of  his  wrongs, 
and  to  wrest  from  him  his  usurped  authority  and  conquests.  Nor 
did  he  want  the  appearance  of  a  good  title  to  justify  such  an  at- 
tempt.     The  agent  whom  he  sent  to  Spain   with  an   account  of 


516  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

Grijalva's  voyage,  had  met  with  a  most  favorable  reception;  and 
from  the  specimens  which  he  produced,  such  high  expectations 
were  formed  concerning  the  opulence  of  New  Spain,  that  Velas- 
quez was  authorized  to  prosecute  the  discovery  of  the  country,  and 
appointed  governor  of  it  during  life,  with  more  extensive  power 
and  privileges  than  had  been  granted  to  any  adventurer  from  the 
time  of  Columbus.  Elated  by  this  distinguishing  mark  of  favor, 
and  warranted  to  consider  Cortes  not  only  as  intruding  upon  his 
jurisdiction,  but  as  disobedient  to  the  royal  mandate,  he  determined 
to  vindicate  his  own  rights,  and  the  honor  of  his  sovereign,  by  force 
of  arms.  His  ardor  in  carrying  on  his  preparations  was  such  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  the  violence  of  the  passions  with 
which  he  was  animated;  and  in  a  short  time  an  armament  was 
completed,  consisting  of  eighteen  ships,  which  had  on  board  four- 
score horsemen,  eight  hundred  foot  soldiers,  of  which  eight}'  were 
musketeers,  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  crossbow-men,  together 
with  a  train  of  twelve  pieces  of  cannon.  As  Velasquez's  experi- 
ence of  the  fatal  consequence  of  committing  to  another  what  he 
ought  to  have  executed  himself,  had  not  rendered  him  more  enter- 
prising, he  vested  the  command  of  this  formidable  body,  which,  in 
the  infancy  of  the  Spanish  power  in  America,  merits  the  appella- 
tion of  an  army,  in  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  with  instructions  to  seize 
Cortes  and  his  principal  officers,  to  send  them  prisoners  to  him, 
and  then  to  complete  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  the  country  in 
his  name. 

After  a  prosperous  voyage,  Narvaez  landed  his  men  without 
opposition  near  St.  Juan  de  Uloa  [April].  Three  soldiers,  whom 
Cortes  had  sent  to  search  for  mines  in  that  district,  immediately 
joined  him.  Bv  this  accident,  he  not  only  received  informa- 
tion concerning  the  progress  and  situation  of  Cortes,  but,  as 
these  soldiers  had  made  some  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Mexican  language,  he  acquired  interpreters,  by  whose  means  he 
was  enabled  to  hold  some  intercourse  with  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try. But,  according  to  the  low  cunning  of  deserters,  they  framed 
their  intelligence  with  more  attention  to  what  they  thought  would 
be  agreeable,  than  to  what  they  knew  to  be  true ;  and  represented 
the  situation  of  Cortes  to  be  so  desperate,  and  the  disaffection  of 
his  followers  to  be  so  general,  as  increased  the  natural  confidence 
and  presumption  of  Narvaez.     His  first  operation,  however,  might 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  517 

have  taught  him  not  to  rely  on  their  partial  accounts.  Having 
sent  to  summon  the  governor  of  Vera  Cruz  to  surrender,  Guevara, 
a  priest  whom  he  employed  in  that  service,  made  the  requisition 
with  such  insolence,  that  Sandoval,  an  officer  of  high  spirit,  and 
zealously  attached  to  Cortes,  instead  of  complying  with  his  de- 
mands, seized  him  and  his  attendants,  and  sent  them  in  chains  to 
Mexico. 

Cortes  received  them  not  like  enemies,  but  as  friends,  and, 
condemning  the  severity  of  Sandoval,  set  them  immediately  at  lib- 
erty. By  this  well-timed  clemency,  seconded  by  caresses  and  pres- 
ents, he  gained  their  confidence,  and  drew  from  them  such  particu- 
lars concerning  the  force  and  intentions  of  Narvaez,  as  gave  him  a 
view  of  the  impending  danger  in  its  full  extent.  He  had  not  to 
contend  now  with  half-naked  Indians,  no  match  for  him  in  war, 
and  still  more  inferior  in  the  arts  of  policy,  but  to  take  the  field 
against  an  army  in  courage  and  martial  discipline  equal  to  his  own, 
in  number  far  superior,  acting  under  the  sanction  of  royal  author- 
ity, and  commanded  by  an  officer  of  known  bravery.  He  was  in- 
formed that  Narvaez,  more  solicitous  to  gratify  the  resentment  of 
Velasquez  than  attentive  to  the  honor  or  interest  of  his  country, 
had  begun  his  intercourse  with  the  natives,  by  representing  him 
and  his  followers  as  fugitives  and  outlaws,  guilty  of  rebellion 
against  their  own  sovereign,  and  of  injustice  in  invading  the  Mexi- 
can empire;  and  had  declared  that  his  chief  object  in  visiting  the 
country  was  to  punish  the  Spaniards  who  had  committed  these 
crimes,  and  to  rescue  the  Mexicans  from  oppression.  He  soon  per- 
ceived that  the  same  unfavorable  representations  of  his  character 
and  actions  had  been  conveyed  to  Montezuma,  and  that  Narvaez 
had  found  means  to  assure  him,  that  as  the  conduct  of  those  who 
kept  him  under  restraint  was  highly  displeasing  to  the  king  his 
master,  he  had  it  in  charge  not  only  to  rescue  an  injured  monarch 
from  confinement,  but  to  reinstate  him  in  the  possession  of  his 
ancient  power  and  independence.  Animated  with  this  prospect  of 
being  set  free  from  subjection  to  strangers,  the  Mexicans  in  several 
provinces  began  openly  to  revolt  from  Cortes,  and  to  regard  Nar- 
vaez as  a  deliverer  no  less  able  than  willing  to  save  them.  Monte- 
zuma himself  kept  up  a  secret  intercourse  with  the  new  com- 
mander, and  seemed  to  court  him  as  a  person  superior  in  power 
and  dignity  to  those  Spaniards  whom  he  had  hitherto  revered  as 
the  first  of  men. 
29 


518  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

Such  were  the  various  aspects  of  danger  and  difficulty  which 
presented  themselves  to  the  view  of  Cortes.  No  situation  can  be 
conceived  more  trying  to  the  capacity  and  firmness  of  a  general, 
or  where  the  choice  of  the  plan  which  ought  to  be  adopted  was 
more  difficult.  If  he  should  wait  the  approach  of  Narvaez  in  Mex- 
ico, destruction  seemed  to  be  unavoidable ;  for,  while  the  Spaniards 
pressed  him  from  without,  the  inhabitants,  whose  turbulent  spirit 
he  could  hardly  restrain  with  all  his  authority  and  attention,  would 
eagerly  lay  hold  on  such  a  favorable  opportunity  of  avenging  all 
their  wrongs.  If  he  should  abandon  the  capital,  set  the  captive 
monarch  at  liberty,  and  march  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  he  must  at 
once  forego  the  fruits  of  all  his  toils  and  victories,  and  relinquish 
advantages  which  could  not  be  recovered  without  extraordinary 
efforts  and  infinite  danger.  If,  instead  of  employing  force,  he 
should  have  recourse  to  conciliating  measures,  and  attempt  an  ac- 
commodation with  Narvaez  ;  the  natural  haughtiness  of  that  offi- 
cer, augmented  by  consciousness  of  his  present  superiority,  forbade 
him  to  cherish  any  sanguine  hope  of  success.  After  revolving 
every  scheme  with  deep  attention,  Cortes  fixed  upon  that  which  in 
execution  was  most  hazardous,  but,  if  successful,  would  prove  most 
beneficial  to  himself  and  to  his  country ;  and  with  the  decisive  in- 
trepidity suited  to  desperate  situations,  determined  to  make  one 
bold  effort  for  victor}-  under  every  disadvantage,  rather  than  sacri- 
fice his  own  conquests  and  the  Spanish  interests  in  Mexico. 

But  though  he  foresaw  that  the  contest  must  be  terminated 
finally  by  arms,  it  would  have  been  not  only  indecent  but  criminal 
to  have  marched  against  his  countrymen,  without  attempting  to 
adjust  matters  by  an  amicable  negotiation.  In  this  service  he  em- 
ployed Olmedo,  his  chaplain,  to  whose  character  the  function  was 
well  suited,  and  who  possessed,  besides,  such  prudence  and  address 
as  qualified  him  to  carry  on  the  secret  intrigues  in  which  Cortes 
placed  his  chief  confidence.  Narvaez  rejected  with  scorn  every 
scheme  of  accommodation  that  Olmedo  proposed,  and  was  with 
difficult}-  restrained  from  laying  violent  hands  on  him  and  his 
attendants.  He  met,  however,  with  a  more  favorable  reception 
among  the  followers  of  Narvaez,  to  many  of  whom  he  delivered 
letters,  either  from  Cortes  or  his  officers,  their  ancient  friends  and 
companions.  Cortes  artfully  accompanied  these  with  presents  of 
rings,  chains  of  gold,  and  other  trinkets  of  value,  which  inspired 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


5'9 


those  needy  adventurers  with  high  ideas  of  the  wealth  that  he  had 
acquired,  and  with  envy  of  their  good  fortune  who  were  engaged 
in  his  service.  Some,  from  hopes  of  becoming  sharers  in  those 
rich  spoils,  declared  for  an  immediate  accommodation  with  Cortes. 
Others,  from  public  spirit,  labored  to  prevent  a  civil  war,  which 
whatever  party  should  prevail,  must  shake,  and  perhaps  subvert, 
the  Spanish  power  in  a  country  where  it  was  so  imperfectly  estab- 
lished. Narvaez  disregarded  both,  and  by  a  public  proclamation 
denounced  Cortes  and  his  adherents  as  rebels  and  enemies  to  their 
country.  Cortes,  it  is  probable,  was  not  much  surprised  at  the 
un tractable  arrogance  of  Narvaez ;  and  after  having  given  such  a 
proof  of  his  own  pacific  disposition  as  might  justify  his  recourse  to 
other  means,  he  determined  to  advance  towards  an  enemy  whom  he 
had  labored  in  vain  to  appease. 

He  left  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  the  capital  [May],  under 
the  command  of  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  an  officer  of  distinguished 
courage,  for  whom  the  Mexicans  had  conceived  a  singular  degree 
of  respect.  To  the  custody  of  this  slender  garrison  he  committed 
a  great  city,  with  all  the 
wealth  he  had  amassed, 
and,  what  was  of  still 
greater  importance,  the 
person  of  the  impris- 
oned monarch.  His 
utmost  art  was 
ployed     in 

from  Montezuma  the 
real  cause  of  his  march. 
He  labored  to  persuade 
him,  that  the  strangers 
who  had  lately  arrived 
were  his  friends  and  fel- 
low-subjects ;  and  that, 
after  a  short  interview 
with  them,  they  would 
depart  together,  and 
return  to  their  own 
country.  The  captive 
prince,  unable  to  com- 


em- 
concealing 


CORTES    MARCHES    OUT    OF    MEXICO    TO    GIVE    BATTLE    TO   THE    ARMY    OF    NARVAEZ 


520 


THE   CONQUEST   OK   MEXICO. 


prehend  the  designs  of  the  Spaniards,  or  to  reconcile  what  he 
now  heard  with  the  declarations  of  Narvaez,  and  afraid  to  dis- 
cover any  symptom  of  suspicion  or  distrust  of  Cortes,  promised 
to  remain  quietly  in  the  Spanish  quarters,  and  to  cultivate  the  same 
friendship  with  Alvarado  which  he  had  uniformly  maintained  with 
him.  Cortes,  with  seeming  confidence  in  this  promise,  but  relying 
principally  upon  the  injunctions  which  he  had  given  Alvarado  to 
guard  his  prisoner  with  the  most  scrupulous  vigilance,  set  out  from 
Mexico. 

His  strength,  even  after  it  was  reinforced  by  the  junction  of 
Sandoval  and  the  garrison  of  Vera  Cruz,  did  not  exceed  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  As  he  hoped  for  success  chiefly 
from  the  rapidity  of  his  motions,  his  troops  were  not  en- 
cumbered either  with  baggage  or  artillery.    But  as  he  dreaded 

extremely  the  impression  which 
the  enemy  might  make  with  their 
cavalry,  he  had  provided  against 
this  danger  with  the  foresight 
and  sagacity  which  distinguish  a 
great  commander.  Having  ob- 
served that  the  Indians  in  the 
province  of  Chilian tla  used 
spears  of  extraordinary  length 
and  force,  he  armed  his  soldiers 
with  these,  and  accustomed  them 
to  that  deep  and  compact  ar- 
rangement which  the  use  of  this 
formidable  weapon,  the  best  per- 
haps that  ever  was  invented  for 
defense,  enabled  them  to  assume. 
With  this  small  but  firm  battalion,  Cortes  advanced  towards 
Cempoala,  of  which  Narvaez  had  taken  possession.  During  his 
inarch,  he  made  repeated  attempts  towards  some  accommodation 
with  his  opponent.  But  Narvaez  requiring  that  Cortes  and  his 
followers  should  instantly  recognize  his  title  to  be  governor  of 
New  Spain,  in  virtue  of  the  powers  which  he  derived  from  Velas- 
quez ;  and  Cortes  refusing  to  submit  to  any  authority  which  was 
not  founded  on  a  commission  from  the  emperor  himself,  under 
whose  immediate  protection  he  and  his  adherents  had  placed  their 


Most  of  the  utensils  employed  to-day  are  of  such  primitive  nature  as  yet, 
that  a  fair  picture  of  an  Aztec  goldsmith  shop  of  the  time  of  the  conquest,  is 
produced  upon  the  beholder  of  these  patient  toilers. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.        ,  52I 

infant  colony;  all  these  attempts  proved  fruitless.  The  inter- 
course, however,  which  this  occasioned  between  the  two  parties, 
proved  of  no  small  advantage  to  Cortes,  as  it  afforded  him  an  op- 
portunity of  gaining  some  of  Narvaez's  officers  by  liberal  presents, 
of  softening  others  by  a  semblance  of  moderation,  and  of  dazzling 
all  by  the  appearance  of  wealth  among  his  troops,  most  of  his  sol- 
diers' having  converted  their  share  of  the  Mexican  gold  into  chains, 
bracelets,  and  other  ornaments,  which  they  displayed  with  military 
ostentation.  Narvaez  and  a  little  junto  of  his  creatures  excepted, 
all  the  army  leaned  towards  an  accommodation  with  their  country- 
men. This  discovery  of  their  inclination  irritated  his  violent  tem- 
per almost  to  madness.  In  a  transport  of  rage,  he  set  a  price  upon 
the  head  of  Cortes,  and  of  his  principal  officers ;  and  having  learned 
that  he  was  now  advanced  within  a  league  of  Cempoala  with  his 
small  body  of  men,  he  considered  this  an  insult  which  merited  im- 
mediate chastisement,  and  marched  out  with  all  his  troops  to  offer 
him  battle. 

But  Cortes  was  a  leader  of  greater  abilities  and  experience 
than,  on  equal  ground,  to  fight  an  enemy  so  far  superior  in  num- 
ber, and  so  much  better  appointed.  Having  taken  his  station  on 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  de  Canoas,  where  he  knew  that  he 
could  not  be  attacked,  he  beheld  the  approach  of  the  enemy  with- 
out concern,  and  disregarded  this  vain  bravado.  It  was  then  the 
beginning  of  the  wet  season,  and  the  rain  had  poured  down,  during 
a  great  part  of  the  day,  with  a  violence  peculiar  to  the  torrid  zone. 
The  followers  of  Narvaez,  unaccustomed  to  the  hardships  of  mili- 
tary service,  murmured  so  much  at  being  thus  fruitlessly  exposed, 
that,  from  their  unsoldier-like  impatience,  as  well  as  his  own  con- 
tempt of  his  adversary,  their  general  permitted  them  to  retire  to 
Cempoala.  The  very  circumstance  which  induced  them  to  quit  the 
field,  encouraged  Cortes  to  form  a  scheme,  by  which  he  hoped  at 
once  to  terminate  the  war.  He  observed  that  his  hardy  veterans, 
though  standing  under  the  torrents  which  continued  to  fall,  with- 
out a  single  tent,  or  any  shelter  whatever  to  cover  them,  were  so  far 
from  repining  at  hardships  which  were  become  familiar  to  them, 
that  they  were  still  fresh  aud  alert  for  service.  He  foresaw  that 
the  enemy  would  naturally  give  themselves  up  to  repose  after  their 
fatigue,  and  that,  judging  of  the  conduct  of  others  by  their  own 
effeminacy,  they  would  deem  themselves  perfectly  secure  at  a  sea- 


522 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


son  so  unfit  for  action.  He  resolved,  therefore,  to  fall  upon  them 
in  the  dead  of  night,  when  the  surprise  and  terror  of  this  unex- 
pected attack  might  more  than  compensate  the  interiority  of  his 
numbers.  His  soldiers,  sensible  that  no  resource  remained  but  in 
some  desperate  effort  of  courage,  approved  of  the  measure  with 
such  warmth,  that  Cortes,  in  a  military  oration  which  he  addressed 
to  them  before  they  began  their  march,  was  -more  solicitous  to 
temper  than  to  inflame  their  ardor.  He  divided  them  into  three 
parties.  At  the  head  of  the  first  he  placed  Sandoval;  intrusting 
this  gallant  officer  with  the  most  dangerous  and  important  service, 
that  of  seizing  the  enemy's  artillery,  which  was  planted  before  the 
principal  tower  of  the  temple,  where  Narvaez  had  fixed  his  head- 
quarters.    Christoval  de  Olid  commanded  the  second,  with  orders 

to  assault  the  tower,  and  lay  hold  on 
the  general.  Cortes  himself  conducted 
the  third  and  smallest  division,  wMch 
was  to  act  as  a  bod}'  of  reserve,  and  to 
support  the  other  two  as  there  should 
be  occasion.  Having  passed  the  river 
de  Canoas,  which  was  much  swelled 
with  the  rains,  not  without  difficultv, 
the  water  reaching  almost  to  their 
chins,  they  advanced  in  profound  sil- 
ence, without  beat  of  drum,  or  sound 
of  any  warlike  instrument;  each  man 
armed  with  his  sword,  his  dagger,  and 
his  Chinantlan  spear. 
Narvaez,  remiss  in  proportion  to  his  security,  had  posted  only 
two  sentinels  to  watch  the  motions  of  an  enemy  whom  he  had  such 
good  cause  to  dread.  One  of  these  was  seized  by  the  advanced 
guard  of  Cortes'  troops ;  the  other  made  his  escape,  and,  hurrying 
to  the  town  with  all  the  precipitation  of  fear  and  zeal,  gave  such 
timely  notice  of  the  enemy's  approach,  that  there  was  full  leisure 
to  have  prepared  for  their  receptiou.  But,  through  the  arrogance 
and  infatuation  of  Narvaez,  this  important  interval  was  lost.  He 
imputed  this  alarm  to  the  cowardice  of  the  sentinel,  and  treated 
with  derision  the  idea  of  being  attacked  by  forces  so  unequal  to  his 
own.  The  shouts  of  Cortes'  soldiers,  rushing  on  to  the  assault, 
convinced  him,  at  last,  that  the  danger  which  he  despised  was  real. 


CORTES    PASSING   THE    SWOLLEN    RIVER    OF    DE   CANOAS    UNDER 
GREAT    DIFFICULTY. 


o 

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2 

fc 

O 

a, 

o 
o 

A! 

0 

w 
x 

5 
a 

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W 
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o 


ii 

O       . 

HI     ^ 


SO 


(523) 


THK   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO.  525 

The  rapidity  with  which  they  advanced  was  such,  that  only  one  can- 
non could  be  fired  before  Sandoval's  party  closed  with  the  enemy, 
drove  them  from  their  guns,  and  began  to  force  their  way  up  the 
steps  of  the  tower.  Narvaez,  no  less  brave  in  action  than  presump- 
tuous in  conduct,  armed  himself  in  haste,  and  by  his  voice  and  ex- 
ample animated  his  men  to  the  combat.  Olid  advanced  to  sustain 
his  companions  ;  and  Cortes  himself  rushing  to  the  front,  conducted 
and  added  new  vigor  to  the  attack.  The  compact  order  in  which 
this  small  body  pressed  on,  and  the  impenetrable  front  which  they 
presented  with  their  long  spears,  bore  down  all  opposition  before 
it.  They  had  now  reached  the  gate,  and  were  struggling  to  burst 
it  open,  when  a  soldier  having  set  fire  to  the  reeds  with  which  the 
tower  was  covered,  compelled  Narvaez  to  sally  out.  In  the  first 
encounter  he  was  wounded  in  the  eye  with  a  spear,  and,  falling  to 
the  ground,  was  dragged  down  the  steps,  and  in  a  moment  clapped 
in  fetters.  The  cry  of  victory  resounded  among  the  troops  of  Cor- 
tes. Those  who  had  sallied  out  with  their  leader  now  maintained 
the  conflict  feebly,  and  began  to  surrender.  Among  the  remainder 
of  his  soldiers,  stationed  in  two  smaller  towers  of  the  temple,  terror 
and  confusion  prevailed.  The  darkness  was  so  great,  that  they 
could  not  distinguish  between  their  friends  and  foes.  Their  own 
artillery  was  pointed  against  them.  Wherever  they  turned  their 
eyes,  they  beheld  lights  gleaming  through  the  obscurity  of  the 
night,  which,  though  proceeding  only  from  a  variety  of  shining 
insects,  that  abound  in  moist  and  sultry  climates,  their  affrighted 
imaginations  represented  as  numerous  bands 
of  musketeers  advancing  with  kindled  matches 
to  the  attack.  After  a  short  resistance,  the 
soldiers  compelled  their  officers  to  capitulate, 
and  before  morning  all  laid  down  their  arms, 
and  submitted  quietly  to  their  conquerors. 

This  complete  victory  proved  more  accept- 
able, as  it  was  gained  almost  without  blood- 
shed, only  two  soldiers  being  killed  on  the 
side  of  Cortes,  and  two  officers,  with  fifteen 
private   men  of  the  adverse  faction.     Cortes 

treated  the  vanquished  not  like  enemies,  but  as  countrymen 
and  friends,  and  offered  either  to  send  them  back  directly  to 
Cuba,  or  to  take  them  into  his  service,  as  partners  in  his   fortune, 


TH6   CAPITULATION    OF    NARVAEZ'S   AfiMV 


526 


THE   CONQUEST    OF  MEXICO. 


on  equal  terms  with  his  own  soldiers.  This  latter  proposition, 
seconded  by  a  seasonable  distribution  of  some  presents  from 
Cortes,  and  liberal  promises  of  more,  opened  prospects  so  agree- 
able to  the  romantic  expectations  which  had  invited  them  to  en- 
gage in  this  service,  that  all,  a  few  partisans  of  Narvaez  excepted, 
closed  with  it,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  professions  of  fidelity 
and  attachment  to  a  general  whose  recent  success  had  given  them 
such  a  striking  proof  of  his  abilities  for  command.  Thus,  by  a 
series  of  events  no  less  fortunate  than  uncommon,  Cortes  not  only 
escaped  from  perdition,  which  seemed  inevitable,  but,  when  he  had 
least  reason  to  expect  it,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  thousand 
Spaniards,  ready  to  follow  wherever  he  should  lead  them.  Who- 
ever reflects  upon  the  facility  with  which  this  victory  was  obtained, 
or  considers  with  what  sudden  and  unanimous  transition  the  fol- 
lowers of  Narvaez  ranged  themselves  under  the  standard  of  his 
rival,  will  be  apt  to  ascribe  both  events  as  much  to  the  intrigues 
as  to  the  arms  of  Cortes,  and  cannot  but  suspect  that  the  ruin  of 
Narvaez  was  occasioned  no  less  by  the  treachery  of  his  own  follow- 
ers, than  by  the  valor  of  the  enemy. 


A  MUSKETEER  OF  THE  XVI.  CENTURY. 


CHAPTER   LIX. 


IMPOLITIC   MEASURES  OF   ALVARADO   PRODUCE  A  CRISIS    IN   THE   CITY  OF    MEXICO.     RETURN   OF 

CORTES,    WHO    FINDS  HIMSELF    BESIEGED    IN    HIS   OWN    QUARTERS  SHORTLY  AFTERWARDS. 

DEATH    OF    MONTEZUMA,   AND   HORRIBLE    BUTCHERY   OF  THE   SPANIARDS 

DURING  THEIR    RETREAT   FROM   THE   CITY.     THE   "NOCHE  TRISTE." 

UT,  in  one  point,  the  prudent  conduct 
and  good  fortune  of  Cortes  were  equally 
conspicuous.     If,  by  the  rapidity  of  his 
operations  after  he  began  his  march,  he 
had  not  brought  matters  to  such  a 
speedy  issue,  even  this  decisive  vic- 
tory  would    have  come  too  late    to 
have   saved    his  companions    whom 
he  left  in  Mexico.    A  few  days  after 
the    discomfiture    of    Narvaez,    a 
courier  arrived  with   an  account 
that    the     Mexicans     had    taken 
arms,  and,  having  seized  and  de- 
stroyed    the     two    brigantines 
which   Cortes  had  built  in  order 
to    secure    the    command    of  the 
lake,  and  attacked  the  Spaniards 
in  their  quarters,  had  killed  sev- 
eral of  them,  and  wounded  more, 
had  reduced  to  ashes  their  mag- 
azine of  provisions,   and    carried 
on  hostilities  with  such  fury,  that 
though  Alvarado  and  his  men  de- 
fended themselves  with  undaunted  resolution,  they  must  either  be 
soon  cut  off  by  famine,  or  sink  under  the  multitude  of  their  ene- 
mies.    This  revolt  was  excited  by  motives  which  rendered  it  still 
more    alarming.       On  the  departure  of  Cortes  for  Cempoala,  the 
Mexicans  flattered  themselves,  that  the  long-expected  opportunity 
of  restoring  their  sovereign   to    liberty,  and  of  vindicating  their 
country  from  the  odious  dominion  of  strangers,  was  at  length  ar- 
rived ;  that  while  the  forces  of  their  oppressors  were  divided,  and 


527) 


5^3 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


the  arms  of  one  party  turned  against  the  other,  they  might  triumph 
with  greater  facility  over  both.  Consultations  were  held,  and 
schemes  formed  with  this  intention.  The  Spaniards  in  Mexico, 
conscious  of  their  own  feebleness,  suspected  and  dreaded  those 
machinations.  Alvarado,  though  a  gallant  officer,  possessed  neither 
that  extent  of  capacity,  nor  dignity  of  manners,  by  which  Cortes 
had  acquired  such  an  ascendant  over  the  minds  of  the  Mexicans,  as 
never  allowed  them  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  his  weakness  or  their 
own  strength.  Alvarado  knew  no  mode  of  supporting  his  authority 
but  force.  Instead  of  employing  address  to  disconcert  the  plans  or 
to  soothe  the  spirits  of  the  Mexicans,  he  waited  the  return  of  one  of 
their  solemn  festivals.  When  the  principal  persons  in  the  empire 
were  dancing,  according  to  custom,  in  the  court  of  the  great  temple, 

he  seized  all  the  avenues  which  led  to  it ;  and, 
allured  partly  by  the  rich  ornaments  which 
they  wore  in  honor  of  their  gods,  and 
j  by  the  facility  of  cutting  off  at 
once  the  authors  of  that  conspiracy 
which  he  dreaded,  he  fell  upon 
them,  unarmed  and  unsuspicious  of 
any  danger,  and  mas- 
sacred a  great  num- 
ber, none  escaping 
but  such  as  made 
their  way  over  the 
battlements  of  the 
temple.  An  action 
so  cruel  and  treach- 
erous filled  not  only 
the  city,  but  the  whole 
empire,  with  indigna- 
tion and  rage.  All 
called  aloud  for  venge- 
ance ;  and  regardless 
of  the  safety  of  their 
monarch,  whose  life 
was  at  the  mercy  of  the  Spaniards,  or  of  their  own  danger  in  as- 
saulting an  enemy  who  had  been  so  long  the  object  of  their  ter- 
ror, they  committed  all  those  acts  of  violence  of  which  Cortes 
received  an  account. 


SURROUNDING  WALL  OF  THE  GREAT  TEOCALLI  AND   TEMPLE.  SHOWING  THE  GREAT   ENTRY-GATE. 
RESTORATION  AFTER  MOTHES. 


THK    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO.  520 

To  him  the  danger  appeared  so  imminent,  as  to  admit  neither 
of  deliberation  nor  delay.      He  set  ont  instantly  with  all  his  forces, 
and  returned  from  Cempoala  with  no  less  rapidity  than  he  had  ad- 
vanced thither.     At  Tlascala  he  was  joined  by  two  thousand  chosen 
warriors.      On  entering  the  Mexican  territories,  he  found  that  dis- 
affection  to   the   Spaniards   was  not  confined   to   the  capital.      The 
principal   inhabitants    had  deserted  the  towns   through   which   he 
passed  ;   no  person  of  note  appearing  to  meet  him  with  the  usual 
respect ;  no  provision  was  made  for  the  subsistence  of  his  troops ; 
and  though  he  was  permitted  to  advance  without  opposition,  the 
solitude  and  silence  which  reigned  in  every  place,  and  the  horror 
with  which  the  people  avoided  all  intercourse  with  him,  discovered 
a  deep-rooted  antipathy  that  excited  the  most  just  alarm.     But  im- 
placable as  the  enmity  of  the  Mexicans  was,  they  were  so  unac- 
quainted with  the  science  of  war,  that  they  knew  not  how  to  take 
the  proper  measures,  either  for  their  own  safety  or  the  destruction 
of  the  Spaniards.     Uninstructed  by  their  former  error  in  admitting 
a  formidable   enemy  into  their  capital,  instead  of  breaking  down 
the  causeways  and  bridges,  by  which  they  might  have  inclosed  Al- 
varado   and  his   party,   and  have  effectually  stopped  the  career  of 
Cortes,  they  again  suffered  him  to  march  into  the  city  without  mo- 
lestation, and  to  take  quiet  possession  of  his  ancient  station. 

The  transports  of  joy  with  which  Alvarado  and  his  soldiers  re- 
ceived their  companions  can  not  be  expressed.  Both  parties  were 
so  much  elated,  the  one  with  their  seasonable  deliverance,  and  the 
other  with  the  great  exploits  which  they  had  achieved,  that  this 
intoxication  of  success  seems  to  have  reached  Cortes  himself;  and 
he  behaved  on  this  occasion  neither  with  his  usual  sagacity  nor  at- 
tention. He  not  only  neglected  to  visit  Montezuma,  but  imbittered 
the  insult  by  expressions  full  of  contempt  for  that  unfortunate 
prince  and  his  people.  The  forces  of  which  he  had  now  the  com- 
mand, appeared  to  him  so  irresistible,  that  he  might  assume  a 
higher  tone,  and  lay  aside  the  mask  of  moderation,  under  which  he 
had  hitherto  concealed  his  designs.  Some  Mexicans,  who  under- 
stood the  Spanish  language,  heard  the  contemptuous  words  which 
Cortes  uttered,  and,  reporting  them  to  their  countrymen,  kindled 
their  rage  anew.  They  were  now  convinced  that  the  inten- 
tions of  the  general  were  equally  bloody-  with  those  of  Alvarado, 
and   that  his  original  purpose  in   visiting  their  country   had   not 


53° 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


been,  as  he  pretended,  to  eonrt  the  alliance  of  their  sovereign,  but 
to  attempt  the  conquest  of  his  dominions.  They  resumed  their 
arms  with  the  additional  fury  which  this  discovery  inspired,  at- 
tacked a  considerable  body  of  Spaniards  who  were  marching  to- 
wards the  great  square  in  which  the  public  market  was  held,  and 

compelled  them  to  re- 
tire with  some  loss. 
Emboldened  by  this 
success, and  delighted 
to  find  that  their  op- 
pressors were  not  in- 
vincible, they  ad- 
vanced next  day  with 
extraordinary  mar- 
tial pomp  to  assault 
the  Spaniards  in  their 
quarters.  Their 
number  was  formid- 
able, and  their  un- 
daunted courage  still 
more  so.  Though 
the  artillery  pointed 
against  their  numer- 
ous battalions, 
crowded  together  in 
narrow  streets,  swept 
off  multitudes  at  ev- 


THE  SPANIARDS   BESIEGED  IN  THEIR  OWN   QUARTERS   BY   THE   INFURIATED   MEXICANS. 


ery  discharge; 
though  ever}- blow  of  the  Spanish  weapons  fell  with  mortal  effect  upon 
their  naked  bodies,  the  impetuosity  of  the  assault  did  not  abate. 
Fresh  men  rushed  forward  to  occupy  the  places  of  the  slain,  and, 
meeting  with  the  same  fate,  were  succeeded  by  others  no  less  in- 
trepid and  eager  for  vengeance.  The  utmost  efforts  of  Cortes' 
abilities  and  experience,  seconded  by  the  disciplined  valor  of  his 
troops,  were  hardly  sufficient  to  defend  the  fortifications  that  sur- 
rounded the  post  where  the  Spaniards  were  stationed,  into  which 
the  enemy  were  more  than  once  on  the  point  of  forcing  their  way. 
Cortes  beheld  with  wonder  the  implacable  ferocity  of  a  people 
who  seemed  at  first  to  submit  tamely  to  the  yoke,  aud  had  coutin- 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO.  53 1 

ued  so  long  passive  under  it.  The  soldiers  of  Narvaez,  who  fondly 
imagined  that  they  followed  Cortes  to  share  in  the  spoils  of  a  con- 
quered empire,  were  astonished  to  find  that  they  were  involved  iu 
a  dangerous  war  with  an  enemy  whose  vigor  was  still  unbroken, 
and  loudly  execrated  their  own  weakness,  iu  giving  such  easy 
credit  to  the  delusive  promises  of  their  new  leader.  But  surprise 
and  complaints  were  of  no  avail.  Some  immediate  and  extraordi- 
nary effort  was  requisite  to  extricate  themselves  out  of  their  pres- 
ent situation.  As  soon  as  the  approach  of  evening  induced  the 
Mexicans  to  retire,  in  compliance  with  their  national  custom  of 
ceasing  from  hostilities  with  the  setting  sun,  Cortes  began  to  pre- 
pare for  a  sally,  next  day,  with  such  a  considerable  force,  as  might 
either  drive  the  enemy  out  of  the  city,  or  compel  them  to  listen  to 
terms  of  accommodation. 

He  conducted  in  person  the  troops  destined  for  this  important 
service.  Ever}-  invention  known  in  the  European  art  of  war,  as 
well  as  every  precaution  suggested  by  his  long  acquaintance  with 
the  Indian  mode  of  fighting,  were  employed  to  ensure  success.  But 
he  found  an  enemy  prepared  and  determined  to  oppose  him.  The 
force  of  the  Mexicans  was  greatly  augmented  by  fresh  troops, 
which  poured  in  continually  from  the  country,  and  their  animosity 
was  in  no  degree  abated.  They  were  led  by  their  nobles,  inflamed 
by  the  exhortations  of  their  priests,  and  fought  in  defence  of  their 
temples  and  families,  under  the  eye  of  their  gods,  and  in  presence 
of  their  wives  and  children.  Notwithstanding  their  numbers,  and 
enthusiastic  contempt  of  danger  and  death,  wherever  the  Spaniards 
could  close  with  them,  the  superiority  of  their  discipline  and  arms 
obliged  the  Mexicans  to  give  way.  But  in  narrow  streets,  and 
where  many  of  the  bridges  of  communication  were  broken  down, 
the  Spaniards  could  seldom  come  to  a  fair  rencounter  with  the  en- 
emy, and,  as  they  advanced,  were  exposed  to  showers  of  arrows  and 
stones  from  the  tops  of  the  houses.  After  a  day  of  incessant  exer- 
tion, though  vast  numbers  of  the  Mexicans  fell,  and  part  of  the  city 
was  burnt,  the  Spaniards,  weary  with  the  slaughter,  and  harassed 
by  multitudes  which  successively  relieved  each  other,  were  obliged 
at  length  to  retire,  with  the  mortification  of  having  accomplished 
nothing  so  decisive  as  to  compensate  the  unusual  calamity  of  hav- 
ing twelve  soldiers  killed,  and  above  sixty  wounded.  Another 
sally,  made  with  greater  force,  was  not  more  effectual,  and  in  it  the 
general  himself  was  wounded  in  the  hand. 


532 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


Cortes  now  perceived,  too  late,  the  fatal  error  into  which  he 
had  been  betrayed  by  his  own  contempt  of  the  Mexicans,  and  was 

satisfied  that  he  could  neither 
maintain  his  present  station 
in    the    center   of    a    hostile 
city,  nor  retire  from  it  with- 
out the  most  imminent  dan- 
ger.     One  resource  still  re- 
mained,   to    try    what    effect 
the   interposition  of  Monte- 
zuma might  have  to  soothe 
or    overawe  his    subjects. 
When    the    Mexicans    ap- 
proached   next    morning    to 
renew  the   assault,  that  un- 
fortunate   prince,    at    the 
mercy  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
reduced  to  the  sad  necessit}^ 
of  becoming  the  instrument 
of  his  own  disgrace,  and  of 
the  slavery  of  his  people,  ad- 
vanced to  the  battlements  in 
his  royal  robes,  and  with  all 
the  pomp  in  which  he  used 
to    appear  on    solemn    occa- 
sions.    At  sight  of  their  sov- 
ereign, whom  they  had  long 
been    accustomed    to    honor, 
and  almost  to  revere  as  a  god, 
the    weapons    dropped    from 
their  hands,  every  tongue  was 
silent,  all  bowed  their   heads,  and  man}'  prostrated  themselves  on 
the    ground.      Montezuma   addressed  them    with    every    argument 
that    could    mitigate   their    rage,   or  persuade  them  to  cease  from 
hostilities.       When  he  ended  his  discourse,   a  sullen    murmur    of 
disapprobation  ran  through  the  ranks ;  to  this  succeeded  reproaches 
and  threats ;    and   the  fury   of  the  multitude  rising  in  a  moment 
above  ever}-  restraint  of  decency  or  respect,  flights  of  arrows  and 


MONTEZUMA     MORTALLY 

WOUNDED   ON    THE    BATTLEMENTS 
OF   THE   SPANISH    QUARTERS, 

WHILE  ATTEMPTING  TO    PACIFY   HIS   SUBJECTS. 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO.  533 

volleys  of  stones  poured  in  so  violently  upon  the  ramparts,  that 
before  the  Spanish  soldiers,  appointed  to  cover  Montezuma  with 
their  bucklers,  had  time  to  lift  them  in  his  defence,  two  arrows 
wounded  the  unhappy  monarch,  and  the  blow  of  a  stone  on  his 
temple  struck  him  to  the  ground.  On  seeing  him  fall,  the  Mexi- 
cans were  so  much  astonished,  that  with  a  transition  not  uncom'- 
mon  in  popular  tumults,  they  passed  in  a  moment  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other,  remorse  succeeded  to  insult,  and  they  fled 
with  horror,  as  if  the  vengeance  of  heaven  were  pursuing  the  crime 
which  the}r  had  committed.  The  Spaniards,  without  molestation, 
carried  Montezuma  to  his  apartments,  and  Cortes  hastened  thither 
to  console  him  under  his  misfortune.  But  the  unhappy  monarch 
now  perceived  how  low  he  was  sunk ;  and,  the  haughty  spirit, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  so  long  extinct,  returning,  he  scorned 
to  survive  this  last  humiliation,  and  to  protract  an  ignominious 
life,  not  only  as  the  prisoner  and  tool  of  his  enemies,  but  as  the 
object  of  contempt  or  detestation  among  his  subjects.  Iu  a  trans- 
port of  rage  he  tore  the  bandages  from  his  wounds,  and  refused, 
with  such  obstinacy,  to  take  any  nourishmeut,  that  he  soon  ended 
his  wretched  days,  rejecting  with  disdain  all  the  solicitations  of  the 
Spaniards  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith. 

Upon  the  death  of  Montezuma,  Cortes,  having  lost  all  hope  of 
bringing  the  Mexicans  to  an  accommodation,  saw  no  prospect  of 
safety  but  in  attempting  a  retreat,  and  began  to  prepare  for  it. 
But  a  sudden  motion  of  the  Mexicans  engaged  him  in  new  conflicts. 
They  took  possession  of  a  high  tower  in  the  great  temple  which 
overlooked  the  Spanish  quarters,  and  placing  there  a  garrison  of 
their  principal  warriors,  not  a  Spaniard  could  stir  without  being 
exposed  to  their  missile  weapons.  From  this  post  it  was  necessary 
to  dislodge  them  at  any  risk;  and  Juan  de  Escobar,  with  a  numer- 
ous detachment  of  chosen  soldiers,  was  ordered  to  make  the  attack. 
But  Escobar,  though  a  gallant  officer,  and  at  the  head  of  troops  ac- 
customed to  conquer,  and  who  now  fought  under  the  eyes  of  their 
countrymen,  was  thrice  repulsed.  Cortes,  sensible  that  not  only 
the  reputation  but  the  safety  of  his  army  depended  on  the  success 
of  this  assault,  ordered  a  buckler  to  be  tied  to  his  arm,  as  he  could 
not  manage  it  with  his  wounded  hand,  and  rushed  with  his  drawn 
sword  into  the  thickest  of  the  combatants.  Encouraged  by  the 
presence  of  their  general,  the  Spaniards  returned  to  the  charge  with 


534 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


such  vigor,  that  they  gradually  forced  their  way  up  the  steps,  and 
drove  the  Mexicans  to  the  platform  at  the  top  of  the  tower.    There 

dreadful    carnage  began ; 


a 

when  two  young  Mexicans 
of  high  rank,  observing 
Cortes  as  he  animated  his 
soldiers  by  his  voice  and 
example,  resolved  to  sacri- 
fice their  own  lives  in  order 
to  cut  off  the  author  of  all 
the  calamities  which  deso- 
lated their  country.  They 
approached  him  in  a  sup- 
pliant posture,  as  if  they 
had  intended  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  seizing  him 
in  a  moment,  hurried  him 
towards  the  battlements, 
over  which  they  threw 
themselves  headlong,  in 
hopes  of  dragging  him  along 
to  be  dashed  in  pieces  by  the 
same  fall.  But  Cortes,  by 
his  strength  and  agility, 
broke  loose  from  their  grasp, 
and  the  gallant  youths  per- 
ished in  this  generous 
though  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  save  their  country.  As 
soon  as  the  Spaniards  be- 
came masters  of  the  tower, 
they  set  fire  to  it,  and,  with- 
out farther  molestation,  con- 
tinued the  preparations  for 
their  retreat. 

This  became  the  more  necessary,  as  the  Mexicans  were  so  much 
astonished  at  the  la'st  effort  of  the  Spanish  valor,  that  they  began 
to  change  their  whole  system  of  hostility,  and,  instead  of  incessant 
attacks,  endeavored,  by  barricading  the  streets  and  breaking  down 


CORTES    IN    IMMINENT    DANGER   OF    HIS   OWN    LIFE,  SAVED    BY    HIS   STRENGTH 
AND   AGILITY. 


THF,    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


535 


the  causeways,  to  cut  off  the  communication  of  the  Spaniards  with 
the  continent,  and  thus  to  starve  an  enemy  whom  the}-  could  not 
subdue.  The  first  point  to  be  determined  by  Cortes  and  his  follow- 
ers, was,  whether  they  should  march  out  openly  in  the  face  of  day, 
when  they  could  discern  every  danger,  and  see  how  to  regulate  their 
own  motions,  as  well  as  how  to  resist  the  assaults  of  the  enemy ;  or, 
whether  they  should  endeavor  to  retire  secretly  iu  the  night  ?  The 
latter  was  preferred,  partly  from  hopes  that  their  national  supersti- 
tion would  restrain  the  Mexicans  from  venturing  to  attack  them  in 
the  night,  and  partly  from  their  fond  belief  in  the  predictions  of  a 
private  soldier,  who,  having  acquired  universal  credit  by  a  smatter- 
ing of  learning,  and  his  pretensions  to  astrology,  boldly  assured  his 
countrymen  of  success,  if  they  made  their  re-  wn 
treat  in  this  manner.  They  began  to  move,  to- 
wards midnight,  in  three  divisions.  Sandoval 
led  the  van ;  Pedro  Alvarado  and  Velasquez  de 
Leon  had  the  conduct  of  the  rear;  and  Cortes 
commanded  in  the  center,  where  he  placed  the 
prisoners,  among  whom  were  a  son  and  two 
daughters  of  Montezuma,  together  with  several  (,' 
Mexicans  of  distinction,  the  artillery,  the  bag- 
gage, and  a  portable  bridge  of  timber,  intended 
to  be  laid  over  the  breaches 
in  the  causeway.  They 
marched  in  profound  si- 
lence along  the  causeway 
which  led  to  Tacuba,  be- 
cause it  was  shorter  than 
any  of  the  rest,  and,  lying 
most  remote  from  the  road 
towards  Tlascala  and  the 
sea-coast,  had  been  left 
more  entire  by  the  Mexi- 
cans. They  reached  the 
first  breach  in  it  without 
molestation,  hoping  that 
their  retreat  was  undis- 
covered. 

But  the  Mexicans,  unper- 


30 


THE    "  NOCHE    TRISTE."      THE    SORROWFUL    NIGHT. 


536  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

ceived,  had  not  only  watched  all  their  motions  with  attention, 
but  had  made  proper  dispositions  for  a  most  formidable  attack. 
While  the  Spaniards  were  intent  upon  placing  their  bridge  in 
the  breach,  and  occupied  in  conducting  their  horses  and  artillery 
along  it,  they  were  suddenly  alarmed  with  a  tremendous  sound 
of  warlike  instruments,  and  a  general  shout  from  an  innumer- 
able multitude  of  enemies ;  the  lake  was  covered  with  canoes ; 
flights  of  arrows  and  showers  of  stones  poured  in  upon  them 
from  every  quarter ;  the  Mexicans  rushing  forward  to  the  charge 
with  fearless  impetuosity,  as  if  they  hoped  in  that  moment  to  be 
avenged  for  all  their  wrongs.  Unfortunately  the  wooden  bridge, 
by  the  weight  of  the  artillery,  was  wedged  so  fast  into  the  stones 
and  mud,  that  it  was  impossible  to  remove  it.  Dismayed  at  this 
accident,  the  Spaniards  advanced  Avith  precipitation  towards  the 
second  breach.  The  Mexicans  hemmed  them  in  on  every  side ; 
and  though  they  defended  themselves  with  their  usual  courage, 
yet,  crowded  together  as  they  were  on  a  narrow  causeway,  their 
discipline  and  military  skill  were  of  little  avail,  nor  did  the  obscu- 
rity of  the  night  permit  them  to  derive  great  advantage  from  their 
fire-arms,  or  the  superiority  of  their  other  weapons.  All  Mexico 
was  now  in  arms ;  and  so  eager  were  the  people  on  the  destruction 
of  their  oppressors,  that  they  who  were  not  near  enough  to  annoy 
them  in  person,  impatient  of  the  delay,  pressed  forward  with  such 
ardor  as  drove  on  their  countrymen  in  the  front  with  irresistible 
violence.  Fresh  warriors  instantly  filled  the  place  of  such  as  fell. 
The  Spaniards,  weary  with  slaughter,  and  unable  to  sustain  the 
weight  of  the  torrent  that  poured  in  upon  them,  began  to  give  way. 
In  a  moment  the  confusion  was  universal ;  horse  and  foot,  officers 
and  soldiers,  friends  and  enemies,  were  mingled  together;  and  while 
all  fought,  and  many  fell,  they  could  hardly  distinguish  from  what 
hand  the  blow  came. 

Cortes,  with  about  a  hundred  foot-soldiers  and  a  few  horse,  forced 
his  way  over  the  two  remaining  breaches  in  the  causeway,  the  bod- 
ies of  the  dead  serving  to  fill  up  the  chasms,  and  reached  the  main- 
land. Having  formed  them  as  soon  as  they  arrived,  he  returned  with 
such  as  were  yet  capable  of  service  to  assist  his  friends  in  their  re- 
treat, and  to  encourage  them,  by  his  presence  and  example,  to  per- 
severe in  the  efforts  requisite  to  effect  it.  He  met  with  part  of  his 
soldiers,  who  had  broke  through  the  enemy,  but  found  many  more 


THE    CONQAJEST   OF    MEXICO. 


54' 


overwhelmed  by  the  multitude  of  their  aggressors,  or  perishing  in 
the  lake ;  and  heard  the  pitions  lamentations  of  others,  whom  the 
Mexicans,  having  taken  alive,  were  earryiiig  off  in  triumph  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  god  of  war.  Before  day,  all  who  had  escaped  assem- 
bled at  Tacuba.  But  when  the  morning  dawued,  and  discovered  to 
the  view  of  Cortes,  his  shattered  battalion,  reduced  to  less  than  half 
its  number,  the  survivors  dejected,  and  most  of  them  covered  with 
-wounds,  the  thoughts  of  what  they  had  suffered,  and  the  remem- 
brance of  so  many  faithful  friends  and  gallant  followers  who  had 
fallen  in  that  night  of  sorrow,  pierced  his  soul  with  such  anguish, 
that  while  he  was  forming  their  ranks,  and  issuing  some  necessary 
orders,  the  soldiers  observed  the  tears  trickling  from  his  eyes,  and 
remarked,  with  much  satisfaction,  that  while  attentive  to  the  duties 
of  a  general,  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  feelings  of  a  man. 

In  this  fatal  retreat  many  officers  of  distinction  perished,  and 
among  these  Velasquez  de  Leon,  who  having  forsaken  the  party  of 
his  kinsman,  the  governor  of  Cuba,  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  his 
companions,  was,  on  that  account,  as  well  as  for  his  superior  merit, 
respected  by  them  as  the  second  person  in  the  army.  All  the  artil- 
lery, ammunition,  and  baggage,  were  lost ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
horses,  and  above  two  thousand  Tlascalans,  were  killed,  and  only 
a  very  small  portion  of  the  treasure  which  they  had  amassed  was 
saved.  This,  which  had  always  been  their  chief  object,  proved  a 
great  cause  of  their  calamity;  for  many  of  the  soldiers  having  so 
overloaded  themselves  with  bars  of  gold  as  rendered  them  unfit  for 
action,  and  retarded  their  flight,  fell  ignominiously,  the  victims  of 
their  own  inconsiderate  avarice.  Amidst  so  many  disasters,  it  was 
some  consolation  to  find  that  Aguilar  and  Marina,  whose  function 
as  interpreters  was  of  such  essential  importance,  had  made  their 
•escape. 


CHAPTER   LX. 


RETREAT  AND   BATTLE   OF   OTUMBA      RECEPTION   OF  THE  SPANIARDS   INTLASCALA.     MUTINOUS 
SPIRIT  OF  THE  TROOPS  AND    MEANS    EMPLOYED   BY   CORTES  TO    REVIVE  THEIR   CON- 
FIDENCE      STRENGTHENED    BY   SEVERAL    REINFORCEMENTS,  HE   AGAIN 
MARCHES   AGAINST  THE   CITY  OF   MEXICO       (1520.) 

HB  first  care  of  Cortes  was  to  find  some  shelter  for  his 
wearied  troops ;  for,  as  the  Mexicans  infested  them  on 
every  side,  and  the  people  of  Tacuba  began  to  take 
arms,  he  could  not  continue  in  his  present  station.  He 
directed  his  march  towards  the  rising  ground,  and,  having  fortu- 
nately discovered  a  temple  situated  on  an  eminence,  took  possession 

of  it.     There  he  found  not  only 
the  shelter  for  which  he  wished, 
but,   what    was   no    less  wanted, 
some    provisions    to   refresh    his 
men  ;    and  though  the  enemy  did 
not    intermit     their     attacks 
throughout   the   day,   they    were 
with     less     difficulty    prevented 
from    making    any  impression. 
During  this  time  Cortes  was  en- 
gaged in  deep  consultation  with 
his  officers,  concerning  the  route 
which    they    ought    to     take    in 
their  retreat.    They  were  now  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake.     Tlas- 
cala,  the   only  place  where  they 
could  hope  for  a  friendly  recep- 
tion, lay   about  sixty-four  miles 
to   the  east  of  Mexico;    so  that 
they  were   obliged    to  go  round 
the  north  end  of  the  lake  before 
they    could    fall    into    the    road 


(54*) 


THE    "  NOCHE    TRISTE  "    TREE    AT    POPOTLAN. 
PLACE  WHERE  CORTES   FOUND  SHELTER  AFTER  H!6   DISASTROUS  RETREAT. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  543 

which    led    thither.     A    Tlasealan    soldier    undertook    to  be    their 
guide,    and   conducted    them    through   a    country  in    some    places 
marshy,    in  others   mountainous,  in   all    ill    cultivated  and  thinly 
peopled.     They  marched  for  six  da3rs  with  little  respite,  and  under 
continual    alarms,    numerous    bodies    of    the    Mexicans    hovering 
around  them,  sometimes  harassing  them    at  a  distance  with  their 
missile  weapons,  and   sometimes  attacking  them  closely  in  front, 
in  rear,  in  flank,  with  great  boldness,  as  they  now  knew  that  they 
were  not  invincible.     Nor  were  the  fatigue  and  danger  of  those  in- 
cessant conflicts  the  worst  evils   to  which  they  were  exposed.     As 
the  barren  country  through  which  they  passed  afforded  hardly  any 
provisions,  they  were    reduced   to    feed  on    berries,  roots,  and  the 
stalks  of  green   maize ;  and    at  the  very  time  that  famine  was  de- 
pressing their  spirits  and  wasting   their  strength,  their  situation 
required  the  most  vigorous  and   unremitting    exertions  of  courage 
and   activity.       Amidst   those   complicated    distresses,  one  circum- 
stance  supported  and  animated  the  Spaniards.    Their  commander 
sustained  this  sad  reverse  of  fortune  with  unshaken  magnanimity. 
His  presence   of    mind  never   forsook   him;     his  sagacity  foresaw 
every  event,   and  his  vigilance  provided  for  it.     He  was  foremost 
in   every  danger,  and  endured  every  hardship   with  cheerfulness. 
The  difficulties  with  which  he  was  surrounded  seemed  to  call  forth 
new  talents;    and  his  soldiers,  though  despairing  themselves,  con- 
tinued to  follow  him  with  increasing  confidence  in  his  abilities. 

On  the  sixth  day  they  arrived  near  to  Otumba,  not  far  from 
the  road  between  Mexico  and  Tlascala.  Early  next  morning  they 
began  to  advance  towards  it,  flying  parties  of  the  enemy  still  hang- 
ing on  the  rear  ;  and,  amidst  the  insults  with  which  they  accompanied 
their  hostilities,  Marina  remarked  that  they  often  exclaimed  with 
exultation,  "  Go  on,  robbers ;  go  to  the  place  where  you  shall  quickly 
meet  the  vengeance  due  to  your  crimes."  The  meaning  of  this 
threat  the  Spaniards  did  not  comprehend,  until  they  reached  the 
summit  of  an  eminence  before  them.  There  a  spacious  valley 
opened  to  their  view,  covered  with  a  vast  army  extending  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach.  The  Mexicans,  while  with  one  body  of  their 
troops  the}^  harassed  the  Spaniards  in  their  retreat,  had  assembled 
their  principal  force  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake ;  and  marching 
along  the  road  which  led  directly  to  Tlascala,  posted  it  in  the  plain 
of  Otumba,  through  which  they  knew  Cortes  must  pass.     At  the 


544  THE    CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

sight  of  this  incredible  multitude,  which  they  could  survey  at  once 
from  the  rising  ground,  the  Spanish  were  astonished,  and  even 
the  boldest  began  to  despair.  But  Cortes,  without  allowing  leis- 
ure for  their  fears  to  acquire  strength  by  reflection,  after  warning 
them  briefly  that  no  alternative  now  remained  but  to  conquer  or  to 
die,  led  them  instantly  to  the  charge.  The  Mexicans  waited  their 
approach  with  unusual  fortitude.  Such,  however,  was  the  superi- 
ority of  the  Spanish  discipline  and  arms,  that  the  impression  of 
this  small  body  was  irresistible  ;  and  whichever  way  its  force  was 
directed,  it  penetrated  and  dispersed  the  most  numerous  battalions. 
But  while  these  gave  way  in  one  quarter,  new  combatants  advanced 
from  another,  and  the  Spaniards,  though  successful  in  every  attack, 
were  ready  to  sink  under  those  repeated  efforts,  without  seeing  any 
end  of  their  toil,  or  any  hope  of  victory.  At  that  time,  Cortes  ob- 
served the  great  standard  of  the  empire,  which  was  carried  before 
the  Mexican  general,  advancing ;  and  fortunately  recollecting  to 
have  heard,  that  on  the  fate  of  it  depended  the  event  of  every  battle, 
he  assembled  a  few  of  his  bravest  officers,  whose  horses  were  still 
capable  of  service,  and,  placing  himself  at  their  head,  pushed  for- 
ward towards  the  standard  with  an  impetuosity  which  bore  down 
every  thing  before  it.  A  chosen  body  of  nobles,  who  guarded  the 
standard,  made  some  resistance,  but  were  soon  broken.  Cortes,  with 
a  stroke  of  his  sword,  wounded  the  Mexican  General,  and  threw  him 
to  the  ground.     One  of  the  Spanish  officers,  alighting,  put  an  end 

to  his  life,  and  laid  hold  of  the  imperial  stand- 
ard. The  moment  that  their  leader  fell,  and 
the  standard,  towards  which  all  directed  their 
eyes,  disappeared,  a  universal  panic  struck 
kCs^SSr^-' ^  5li    the  Mexicans;  and,  as  if  the  bond  which  held 

I  them  together  had  been  dissolved,  every  en- 
sign was  lowered,  each  soldier  threw  away  his 
weapons,  and  all  fled  with  precipitation  to  the 
mountains.  The  Spaniards,  unable  to  pursue 
them  far,  returned  to  collect  the  spoils  of  the 
field,  which  were  so  valuable  as  to  be  some 
compensation  for  the  wealth  which  they  had 
lost  in  Mexico  ;  for  in  the  enemy's  army  were 
most  of  their  principal  warriors  dressed  out 
in  their  richest   ornaments,   as  if   they   had 


■ .  I'-ju'iifciJM. 

STRATEGY    OF    CORTES    AT     THE    BATTLE    OF    OTUMBA. 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


545 


been  marching  to  assured  victory.     Next  day    [July   8],   to   their 
great  joy,  they  entered  the  Tlascalan  territories. 

But,  amidst  their  satisfaction  in  having  got  beyond  the  pre- 
cincts of  a  hostile  country,  they  could  not  look  forward  without 
solicitude,  as  they  were  still  uncertain  what  reception  they  might 
meet  with  from  allies,  to  whom  they  returned  in  a  condition  very 
different  from  that  in  which  they  had  lately  set  out  from  their' do- 
minions. Happily  for  them,  the  enmity  of  the  Tlascalans  to  the 
Mexican  name  was  so  inveterate,  their  desire  to  avenge  the  death 
of  their  countrymen  so  vehement,  and  the  ascendant  which  Cortes 
had  acquired  over  the  chiefs  of  the  republic  so  complete,  that,  far 
from  entertaining  a  thought  of  taking  any  advantage  of  the  dis- 
tressed situation  in  which  they  beheld  the  Spaniards,  the}'  received 
them  with  a  tender- 
ness and  cordiality 
which  quickly  dis- 
sipated all  their 
suspicions. 

Some  interval 
of  tranquillity 
and  indulgence 
was  now  absolute- 
ly necessary ;  not 
only  that  the 
Spaniards  might 
give  attention  to 
the  cure  of  their  wounds,  which  had  been  too  long  neglected, 
but  in  order  to  recruit  their  strength,  exhausted  by  such  a  long 
succession  of  fatigue  and  hardships.  During  this,  Cortes  learned 
that  he  and  his  companions  were  not  the  only  Spaniards  who  had 
felt  the  effects  of  the  Mexican  enmity.  A  considerable  detachment 
which  was  marching  from  Cempoala  towards  the  capital,  had  been 
cut  off  by  the  people  of  Tepeaca.  A  smaller  party,  returning  from 
Tlascala  to  Vera  Crnz,  with  the  share  of  the  Mexican  gold  allotted 
to  the  garrison,  had  been  surprised  and  destroyed  in  the  mountains. 
At  a  juncture  when  the  life  of  every  Spaniard  was  of  importance, 
such  losses  were  deeply  felt.  The  schemes  which  Cortes  was  med- 
itating rendered  them  peculiarly  afflictive  to  him.  While  his  ene- 
mies, and  even  many  of  his  own  followers,  considered  the  disasters 


MEXICAN    SOLDIERS    WAYLAY    THE    TREASURE-LADEN    SPANIARDS    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS,  AND    UTTERLY    ANNIHILATE    THEM. 


546 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


which  had  befallen  him  as  fatal  to  the  progress  of  his  arms,  and 
imagined  that  nothing  now  remained  but  speedily  to  abandon  a 
country  which  he  had  invaded  with  unequal  force,  his  mind,  as  em- 
inent for  perseverance  as  for  enterprise,  was  still  bent  on  accom- 
plishing his  original  purpose,  of  subjecting  the  Mexican  empire  to 
the  crown  of  Castile.  Severe  and  unexpected  as  the  check  was 
which  he  had  received,  it  did  not  appear  to  him  as  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  relinquishing  the  conquests  which  he  had  already  made,  or 
against  resuming  his  operations  with  better  hopes  of  success.  The 
colony  at  Vera  Cruz  was  not  only  safe,  but  had  remained  unmo- 
lested. The  people  of  Cempoala  and  the  adjacent  districts  had 
discovered  no  symptoms  of  defection.  The  Tlascalans  continued 
faithful  to  their  alliance.  On  their  martial  spirit,  easily  roused  to 
arms,  and  inflamed  with  implacable  hatred  of  the  Mexicans,  Cortes 
depended  for  powerful  aid.  He  had  still  the  command  of  a  body 
of  Spaniards,  equal  in  number  to  that  with  which  he  had  opened 
his  waj'  into  the  centre  of  the  empire,  and  had  taken  possession  of 
the  capital ;  so  that  with  the  benefit  of  greater  experience,  as  well 
as  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  country,  he  did  not  despair  of 
quickly  recovering  all  that  he  had  been  deprived  of  by  untoward 
events. 

Full  of  this  idea,  he  courted  the  Tlascalan  chiefs  with  such  at- 
tention, and  distributed  among  them  so  liberally  the  rich  spoils  of 
Otumba,  that  he  was  secure  of  obtaining  whatever  he  should  require 
of  the  republic.  He  drew  a  small  supply  of  ammunition  and  two 
or  three  field-pieces  from  his  stores  at  Vera  Cruz.  He  despatched 
an  officer  of  confidence  with  four  ships  of  Narvaez's  fleet  to 
Hispaniola  and  Jamaica,  to  engage'  adventurers,  and  to  pur- 
chase horses,  gunpowder,  and  other  military  stores.  As  he 
knew  that  it  would  be  vain  to  attempt  the  reduction  of  Mexico, 
unless  he  could  secure  the  command  of  the  lake,  he 
gave  orders  to  prepare  in  the  mountains  of  Tlascala, 
materials  for  building  twelve  brigantines,  so  as  they 
might  be  carried  thither  in  pieces  read)''  to  be  put 
together,  and  launched  when  he  stood  in  need  of 
their  service. 

But  while,  with  provident  attention,  he  was 
taking  those  necessary  steps  towards  the  execu- 
tion of  his  measures,  an  obstacle  arose  in  a  quarter 


TLASCALANS    CUTTING    DOWN    TIMBER    FOR    THE    CON- 
STRUCTION   OF    THE    BRIGANTINES. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  547 

where  it  was  least  expected,  but  most  formidable.  The  spirit 
of  discontent  and  mutiny  broke  out  in  his  own  army.  Many 
of  Narvaez's  followers  were  planters  rather  than  soldiers,  and  had 
accompanied  him  to  New  Spain  with  sanguine  hopes  of  obtaining 
settlements,  but  with  little  inclination  to  engage  in  the  hardships 
and  dangers  of  war.  As  the  same  motives  had  induced  them  to 
enter  into  their  new  engagements  with  Cortes,  they  no  sooner  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  service,  than  they  bitterly 
repented  of  their  choice.  Such  of  them  as  had  the  good  fortune  to 
survive  the  perilous  adventures  in  which  their  own  imprudence  had 
involved  them,  happy  in  having  made  their  escape,  trembled  at  the 
thoughts  of  being  exposed  a  second  time  to  similar  calamities.  As 
soon  as  they  discovered  the  intention  of  Cortes,  they  began  se- 
cretly to  murmur  and  cabal,  and,  waxing  gradually  more  audacious, 
they,  in  a  body,  offered  a  remonstrance  to  their  general  against  the 
imprudence  of  attacking  a  powerful  empire  with  his  shattered 
forces,  and  formally  required  him  to  lead  them  back  directly  to 
Cuba.  Though  Cortes,  long  practiced  in  the  arts  of  command, 
employed  arguments,  entreaties,  and  presents  to  convince  or  soothe 
them ;  though  his  own  soldiers,  animated  with  the  spirit  of  their 
leader,  warmly  seconded  his  endeavors  ;  he  found  their  fears  too 
violent  and  deep-rooted  to  be  removed,  and  the  utmost  he  could 
effect  was  to  prevail  with  them  to  defer  their  departure  for  some 
time,  on  a  promise  that  he  would,  at  a  more  proper  juncture,  dis- 
miss such  as  should  desire  it. 

That  the  malecontents  might  have  no  leisure  to  brood  over  the 
causes  of  their  disaffection,  he  resolved  instantly  to  call  forth  his 
troops  into  action.  He  proposed  to  chastise  the  people  of  Tepeaca 
for  the  outrage  which  they  had  committed ;  and  as  the  detachment 
which  they  had  cut  off  happened  to  be  composed  mostly  of  soldiers 
who  had  served  under  Narvaez,  their  companions,  from  the  desire 
of  vengeance,  engaged  the  more  willingly  in  this  war.  He  took 
the  command  in  person  [August]  accompanied  by  a  numerous  body 
of  Tlascalans,  and  in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks,  after  various  en- 
counters, with  great  slaughter  of  the  Tepeacans;  reduced  that  prov- 
ince to  subjection.  During  several  months,  while  he  waited  for  the 
supplies  of  men  and  ammunition  which  he  expected,  and  was  car- 
rying on  his  preparations  for  constructing  the  brigantines,  he  kept 
his  troops  constantly  employed  in  various  expeditions  against  the 


548 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


adjacent  provinces,  all  of  which  were  conducted  with  a  uniform  tenor 
of  success.  By  these,  his  men  became  again  accustomed  to  victory, 
and  resumed  their  wonted  sense  of  superiority ;  the  Mexican 
power  was  weakened  ;  the  Tlascalan  warriors  acquired  the  habit 
of  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  Spaniards  ;  and  the  chiefs  of 
the  republic  delighted  to  see  their  country 
enriched  with  the  spoils  of  all  the  people 
around  them ;  and,  astonished  every  day  with 
fresh  discoveries  of  the  irresistible  prowess  of 
their  allies,  declined  no  effort  requisite  to  sup- 
port them. 

All  those  preparatory  arrangements,  how- 
ever, though  the  most  prudent  and  efficacious 
which  the  situation  of  Cortes  allowed  him  to 
make,  would  have  been  of  little  avail  without 
a  reinforcement  of  Spanish  soldiers.  Of  this 
he  was  so  deeply  sensible,  that  it  was  the  chief 
object  of  his  thoughts  and  wishes  ;  and  yet  his 
only  prospect  of  obtaining  it  from  the  return 
of  the  officer  whom  he  had  sent  to  the  isles  to 
solicit  aid,  was  both  distant  and  uncertain. 
But  what  neither  his  own  sagacity  nor  power 
could  have  procured,  he  owed  to  a  series  of 
fortunate  and  unforeseen  incidents.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Cuba,  to  whom  the  success  of  Narvaez 
appeared  an  event  of  infallible  certainty,  having  sent  two  small 
ships  after  him  with  new  instructions,  and  a  supply  of  men  and 
military  stores,  the  officer  whom  Cortes  had  appointed  to  command 
on  the  coast,  artfully  decoyed  them  into  the  harbor  of  Vera  Cruz, 
seized  the  vessels,  and  easily  persuaded  the  soldiers  to  follow  the 
standard  of  a  more  able  leader  than  him  Avhom  they  were  destined  to 
join.     Soon  after,  three  ships  of  more  considerable  force  came  into 

the  harbor  separately.  These  belonged  to  an 
armament  fitted  out  by  Francisco  de  Garay, 
governor  of  Jamaica,  who,  being  possessed 
with  the  rage  of  discovery  and  conquest 
which  animated  every  Spaniard  settled  in 
America,  had  long  aimed  at  intruding  into 
some  district   of  New   Spain,    and  dividing 


THE   SPANIARDS,  ASSISTED    BY    THEIR   TLASCALAN    ALLIE 
THE   TEPEACANS   TO    SUBJECTION. 


THE   GARRISON    OF    VERA   CRUZ    SIGHT   THE   VESSELS   SENT    BY    THE 

GOVERNOR    OF    CUBA    IN    AID    OF    NARVAEZ,   AND    DECOY 

THEM   INTO   THE    HARBOR. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  549 

with  Cortes  the  glory  and  gain  of  annexing  that  empire  to  the 
crown  of  Castile.  They  unadvisedly  made  their  attempt  on  the 
northern  provinces,  where  the  country  was  poor,  and  the  people 
fierce  and  warlike  ;  and  after  a  cruel  succession  of  disasters,  famine 
compelled  them  to  venture  into  Vera  Cruz,  and  cast  themselves 
upon  the  mercy  of  their  countrymen  [Oct.  28].  Their  fidelity  was 
not  proof  against  the  splendid  hopes  and  promises  which  had  se- 
duced other  adventurers  ;  and,  as  if  the  spirit  of  revolt  had  been 
contagious  in  New  Spain,  they  likewise  abandoned  the  master  whom 
they  were  bound  to  serve,  and  enlisted  under  Cortes.  Nor  was  it 
•  America  alone  that  furnished  such  unexpected  aid ;  a  ship  arrived 
from  Spain,  freighted  by  some  private  merchants  with  military 
stores,  in  hopes  of  a  profitable  market  in  a  country,  the  fame  of 
whose  opulence  began  to  spread  over  Europe.  Cortes  eagerly  pur- 
chased a  cargo  which  to  him  was  invaluable,  and  the  crew,  follow- 
ing the  general  example,  joined  him  at  Tlascala. 

From  those  various  quarters,  the  army  of  Cortes  was  augmented 
with  a  hundred  and  eighty  men,  and  twenty  horses,  a  reinforcement 
too  inconsiderable  to  produce  any  consequence  which  would  have 
entitled  it  to  have  been  mentioned  in  the  history  of  other  parts  of 
the  globe.  But  in  that  of  America,  where  great  revolutions  were 
brought  about  by  causes  which  seemed  to  bear  no  proportion  to 
their  effects,  such  small  events  rise  into  importance,  because  they 
were  sufficient  to  decide  with  respect  to  the  fate  of  kingdoms.  Nor 
is  it  the  least  remarkable  instance  of  the  singular  felicity  conspicu- 
ous in  many  passages  of  Cortes'  story,  that  the  two  persons  chiefly 
instrumental  in  furnishing  him  with  those  seasonable  supplies, 
should  be  an  avowed  enemy  who  aimed  at  his  destruction,  and  an 
envious  rival  who  wished  to  supplant  him. 

The  first  effect  of  the  junction  with  his  new  followers  was  to 
enable  him  to  dismiss  such  of  Narvaez's  soldiers  as  remained  with 
reluctance  in  his  service.  After  their  departure,  he  still  mustered 
five  hundred  and  fifty  infantry,  of  which  fourscore  were  armed  with 
muskets  or  crossbows,  forty  horsemen,  and  a  train  of  nine  field- 
pieces.  At  the  head  of  these,  accompanied  by  ten  thousand  Tlas- 
calans  and  other  friendly  Indians,  Cortes  began  his  march  towards 
Mexico,  on  the  28th  of  December,  six  months  after  his  disastrous 
retreat  from  that  city. 


CHAPTER   LXI. 


PREPARATIONS    OF    THE     MEXICANS     FOR    THEIR     DEFENSE.       CORTES'    SLOW    AND    CAUTIOUS 

OPERATIONS    IN    INVESTING  THE    CITY.      LAUNCH   OF  THE    BRIGANTINES. 

GUATEMOTZIN'S    HEROIC   DEFENSE   OF  THE    PALLADIUM 

OF  THE    EMPIRE. 


3R  did  he  advance  to 
attack  an  enemy  un- 
prepared to  receive 
him.  Upon  the 
death  of  Monte- 
zuma, the  Mexican 
chiefs,  in  whom  the 
right  of  electing 
the  emperor  was 
vested,  had  in- 
stantly raised  his 
brother  Quetlavaca  to 
be  throne.  His 
rowed  and  inveterate 
enmity  to  the  Spaniards 
would  have  been  sufficient 
to  gain  their  suffrages, 
although  he  had  been 
x  less  distinguished  for 
^  courage  and  capacity. 
He  had  an  immediate 
opportunity  of  show- 
ing that  he  was  worthy  of  their  choice,  by  conducting  in  person  those 
fierce  attacks  which  compelled  the  Spaniards  to  abandon  his  capital; 

*The  Spartan  Leonidas  defended  the  pass  of  Thermopylae  with  300  of  his  countrymen, 
against  the  legions  of  Persia  under  Xerxes,  only  one  making  his  escape.  He,  upon  reaching 
Sparta,  was  disowned  by  his  mother  for  this  piece  of  cowardice. 


GUATEMOTZIN,    THE    LEONIDAS   OF    MEXICO.* 


(55°) 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO.  55 1 

as  soon  as  their  retreat  afforded  him  any  respite  from  action,  he 
took  measures  for  preventing  their  return  to  Mexico,  with  prudence 
equal  to  the  spirit  which  he  had  displayed  in  driving  them  out  of 
it.  As  from  the  vicinity  of  Tlascala,  he  could  not  be  unacquainted 
with  the  motions  and  intentions  of  Cortes,  he  observed  the  storm 
that  was  gathering,  and  began  early  to  provide  against  it.  He  re- 
paired what  the  Spaniards  had  ruined  in  the  city,  and  strength- 
ened it  with  such  new  fortifications  as  the  skill  of  his  subjects  was 
capable  of  erecting.  Besides  filling  his  magazines  with  the  usual 
weapons  of  war,  he  gave  directions  to  make  long  spears  headed 
with  the  swords  and  daggers  taken  from  the  Spaniards,  in  order  to 
annoy  the  cavalry.  He  summoned  the  people  in  every  province  of 
the  empire  to  take  arms  against  their  oppressors,  and,  as  an  encour- 
agement to  exert  themselves  with  vigor,  he  promised  them  exemption 
from  all  the  taxes  which  his  predecessors  had  imposed.  But  what 
he  labored  with  the  greatest  earnestness,  was,  to  deprive  the  Span- 
iards of  the  advantages  which  they  derived  from  the  friendship  of 
the  Tlascalans,  by  endeavoring  to  persuade  that  people  to  renounce 
all  connection  with  men  who  were  not  only  avowed  enemies  of  the 
gods  whom  they  worshiped,  but  who  would  not  fail  to  subject  them 
at  last  to  the  same  yoke,  which  they  were  now  inconsiderately  lend- 
ing their  aid  to  impose  upon  others.  These  representations,  no 
less  striking  than  well-founded,  were  urged  so  forcibly  by  his  am- 
bassadors, that  it  required  all  the  address  of  Cortes  to  prevent  their 
making  a  dangerous  impression. 

But  while  Quetlavaca  was  arranging  his  plan  of  defense,  with 
a  degree  of  foresight  uncommon  in  an  American,  his  days  were  cut 
short  by  the  small-pox.  This  distemper,  which  raged  at  that  time 
in  New  Spain  with  fatal  malignity,  was  unknown  in  that  quarter 
of  the  globe,  until  it  was  introduced  by  the  Europeans,  aud  may  be 
reckoned  among  the  greatest  calamities  brought  upon  them  by 
their  invaders.  In  his  stead  the  Mexicans  raised  to  the  throne 
Guatemotzin,  nephew  and  son-in-law  of  Montezuma,  a  young  man 
of  such  high  reputation  for  abilities  and  valor,  that,  in  this  danger- 
ous crisis,  his  countymen,with  one  voice,  called  him  to  the  supreme 
command. 

As  soon  as  Cortes  entered  the  enemy's  territories,  he  discov- 
ered various  preparations  to  obstruct  his  progress.  But  his  troops 
forced  their  way  with  little  difficulty,  and  took  possession  of  Tez- 


552 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


cuco,  the  second  city  of  the  empire,  situated  on  the  banks  of  the 
lake  about  twenty  miles  from  Mexico.  Here  he  determined  to 
establish  his  headquarters,  as  the  most  proper  station  for  launching 
his  brigantines,  as  well  as  for  making  his  approaches  to  the  cap- 
ital. In  order  to  render  his  residence  there  more  secure,  he  de- 
posed the  cacique,  or  chief,  who  was  at  the  head  of  that  community, 
under  pretext  of  some  defect  in  his  title,  and  substituted  in  his 
place  a  person  whom  a  faction  of  the  nobles  pointed  out  as  the 
right  heir  of  that  dignity.  Attached  to  him  by  this  benefit,  the 
g$"S  — -_    new  cacique  and  his  ad- 

>£^  ■>   herents     served     the 

Spaniards  with    inviol- 
able fidelity. 

As  the  preparations 
for  constructing  the 
brigantines  advanced 
slowly  under  the  un- 
skillful .hands  of  sol- 
'diers  and  Indians, 
whom  Cortes  was 
obliged  to  employ  in 
assisting  three  or  four 
carpenters  who  hap- 
pened fortunately  to  be 
in  his  service ;  and  as 
he  had  not  yet  re- 
ceived the  reinforce- 
ments which  he  ex- 
pected from  Hispaniola, 
he  was  not  in  a  con- 
dition to  turn  his  arms  directly  against  the  capital.  To  have 
attacked,  at  this  period,  a  city  so  populous,  so  well  prepared  for 
defense,  and  in  a  situation  of  such  peculiar  strength,  must  have 
exposed  his  troops  to  inevitable  destruction.  Three  months 
elapsed  before  the  materials  for  the  brigantines  were  finished, 
and  before  he  heard  any  thing  with  respect  to  the  success  of 
the  officer  whom  he  had  sent  to  Hispaniola.  This,  however,  was 
not  a  season  of  inaction  to  Cortes.  He  attacked  successively 
several  of  the  towns  situated  around  the  lake ;  and  though  all  the 


CORTES    AMO    HIS   ALLIES   TAKE   THE   CITY 


TEZCUCO    BY    STORM. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  553 

Mexican  power  was  exerted  to  obstruct  his  operations,  he  either 
compelled  them  to  submit  to  the  Spanish  crown,  or  reduced  them 
to  ruins.  The  inhabitants  of  other  towns  he  endeavored  to  con- 
ciliate by  more  gentle  means  ;  and  though  he  could  not  hold  any 
intercourse  with  them  but  by  the  intervention  of  interpreters,  yet, 
under  all  the  disadvantages  of  that  tedious  and  imperfect  mode  of 
communication,  he  had  acquired  such  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
state  of  the  country,  as  well  as  of  the  dispositions  of  the  people, 
that  he  conducted  his  negotiations  and  intrigues  with  astonishing 
dexterity  and  success.  Most  of  the  cities  adjacent  to  Mexico  were 
originally  the  capitals  of  small  independent  states;  and  some  of 
them  having  been  but  lately  annexed  to  the  Mexican  empire,  still 
retained  the  remembrance  of  their  ancient  liberty,  and  bore  with 
impatience  the  rigorous  yoke  of  their  new  masters.  Cortes,  having 
early  observed  symptoms  of  their  disaffection,  availed  himself  of 
this  knowledge  to  gain  their  confidence  and  friendship.  By  offer- 
ing with  confidence  to  deliver  them  from  the  odious  dominion  of 
the  Mexicans,  and  by  liberal  promises  of  more  indulgent  treatment, 
if  they  would  unite  with  him  against  their  oppressors,  he  prevailed 
on  the  people  of  several  considerable  districts,  not  only  to  acknowl- 
edge the  King  of  Castile  as  their  sovereign,  but  to  supply  the 
Spanish  camp  with  provisions,  and  to  strengthen  his  army  with 
auxiliary  troops.  Guatemotzin,  on  the  first  appearance  of  defection 
among  his  subjects,  exerted  himself  with  vigor  to  prevent  or  to 
punish  their  revolt ;  but,  in  spite  of  his  efforts,  the  spirit  continued 
to  spread.  The  Spaniards  gradually  acquired  new  allies,  and  with 
deep  concern  he  beheld  Cortes  arming  against  his  empire  those 
very  bands  which  ought  to  have  been  active  in  its  defense,  and 
ready  to  advance  against  the  capital  at  the  head  of  a  numerous 
body  of  his  own  subjects. 

While,  by  those*various  methods,  Cortes  was  gradually  circum- 
scribing the  Mexican  power  in  such  a  manner  that  his  prospect  of 
overturning  it  seemed  neither  to  be  uncertain  nor  remote,  all  his 
schemes  were  well-nigh  defeated  by  a  conspiracy  no  less  unexpected 
than  dangerous.  The  soldiers  of  Narvaez  had  never  united  per- 
fectly with  the  original  companions  of  Cortes,  nor  did  they  enter 
into  his  measures  with  the  same  cordial  zeal.  Upon  every  occasion 
that  required  any  extraordinary  effort  of  courage  or  of  patience, 
their  spirits  wejre  apt  to  sink ;   and  now,  on  a  near  view  of  what 


554  THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 

they  had  to  encounter,  in  attempting  to  reduce  a  city  so  inaccessi- 
ble as  Mexico,  and  defended  by  a  numerous  army,  the  resolution 
even  of  those  among  them  who  had  adhered  to  Cortes  when  he  was 
deserted  by  their  associates,  began  to  fail.  Their  fears  led  them  to 
presumptuous  and  unsoldier-like  discussions  concerning  the  propri- 
ety of  their  general's  measures,  and  the  improbability  of  their  suc- 
cess. From  these  they  proceeded  to  censure  and  invectives,  and 
at  last  began  to  deliberate  how  they  might  provide  for  their  own 
safety,  of  which  they  deemed  their  commander  to  be  totally  negli- 
gent. Antonio  Villefafia,  a  private  soldier,  but  bold,  intriguing, 
and  strongly  attached  to  Velasquez,  artfully  fomented  this  growing 
spirit  of  disaffection.  His  quarters  became  the  rendezvous  of  the 
malcontents,  where,  after  many  consultations,  they  could  discover 
no  method  of  checking  Cortes  in  his  career,  but  by  assassinating 
him  aud  his  most  considerable  officers,  and  conferring  the  command 
upon  some  person  who  would  relinquish  his  wild  plans,  and  adopt 
measures  more  consistent  with  the  general  security.  Despair  in- 
spired them  with  courage.  The  hour  for  perpetrating  the  crime, 
the  persons  whom  they  destined  as  victims,  the  officers  to  succeed 
them  in  command,  were  all  named  ;  and  the  conspirators  signed  an 
association,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  with  most  solemn  oaths 
to  mutual  fidelity.  But  on  the  evening  before  the  appointed  day, 
one  of  Cortes'  ancient  followers,  who  had  been  seduced  into  the  con- 
spiracy, touched  with  compunction  at  the  imminent  danger  of  a  man 
whom  he  had  long  been  accustomed  to  revere,  or  struck  with  horror 
at  his  own  treachery,  went  privately  to  his  general,  and  revealed  to 
him  all  that  he  knew.  Cortes,  though  deeply  alarmed,  discerned  at 
once  what  conduct  was  proper  in  a  situation  so  critical.  He  repaired 
instantly  to  Villefana's  quarters,  accompanied  by  some  of  his  most 
trusty  officers.  The  astonishment  and  confusion  of  the  man  at  this 
unexpected  visit  anticipated  the  confession  of  his  guilt.  Cortes, 
while  his  attendants  seized  the  traitor,  snatched  from  his  bosom  a 
paper  containing  the  association  signed  by  the  conspirators.  Im- 
patient to  know  how  far  the  defection  extended,  he  retired  to  read 
it,  and  found  there  names  which  filled  him  with  surprise  and  sor- 
row. But,  aware  how  dangerous  a  strict  scrutiny  might  prove  at 
such  a  juncture,  he  confined  his  judicial  inquiries  to  Villefafia 
alone.  As  the  proofs  of  his  guilt  were  manifest,  he  was  condemned 
after  a  short  trial,  and  next  morning  he  was  seen  hanging  before 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


555 


EXECUTION    OF    VILLEFANA    IN    THE    PRESENCE    OF    SOME    OF    HIS 
FELLOW-CONSPIRATORS. 


the  door  of  the  house  in  which  he  had  lodged.  Cortes  called  his 
troops  together,  and  having  explained  to  them  the  atrocious  pur- 
pose of  the  conspirators,  as  well  as  the 
justice  of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  Vil- 
lefaria,  he  added,  with  an  appearance  of 
satisfaction,  that  he  was  entirely  ignorant 
with  respect  to  all  the  circumstances  of 
this  dark  transaction,  as  the  traitor,  when 
arrested,  had  suddenly  torn  and  swallowed 
a  paper,  which  probably  contained  an  ac- 
count of  it,  and  under  the  severest  tortures 
possessed  such  constancy  as  to  conceal 
the  names  of  his  accomplices.  This  artful 
declaration  restored  tranquillity  to  many 
a  breast  that  was  throbbing,  while  he 
spoke,  with  consciousness  of  guilt  and  dread  of  detection ;  and  by 
this  prudent  moderation,  Cortes  had  the  advantage  of  having  dis- 
covered, and  of  being  able  to  observe  such  of  his  followers  as  were 
disaffected ;  while  they,  nattering  themselves  that  their  past  crime 
was  unknown,  endeavored  to  avert  any  suspicion  of  it,  by  redoubling 
their  activity  and  zeal  in  his  service. 

Cortes  did  not  allow  them  leisure  to  ruminate  on  what  had 
happened ;  and  as  the  most  effectual  means  of  preventing  the  re- 
turn of  a  mutinous  spirit,  he  determined  to  call  forth  his  troops 
immediately  to  action.  Fortunately,  a  proper  occasion  for  this  oc- 
curred without  his  seeming  to  court  it.  He  received  intelligence 
that  the  materials  for  building  the  brigantines  were  at  length 
•completely  finished,  and  waited  only  for  a  body  of  Spaniards  to 
•conduct  them  to  Tezcuco.  The  command  of  this  convoy,  consist- 
ing of  two  hundred  foot  soldiers,  fifteen  horsemen,  and  two  field- 
pieces,  he  gave  to  Sandoval,  who,  by  the  vigilance,  activity,  and 
■courage  which  he  manifested  on  every  occasion,  was  growing  daily 
in  his  confidence,  and  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow-soldiers.  The 
service  was  no  less  singular  than  important ;  the  beams,  the  planks, 
the  masts,  the  cordage,  the  sails,  the  iron-work,  and  all  the  infinite 
.  variety  of  articles  requisite  for  the  construction  of  thirteen  brigan- 
tines, were  to  be  carried  sixty  miles  over  land,  through  a  mountain- 
ous country,  by  people  who  were  unacquainted  with  the  ministry 
•of  domestic  animals,  or  the  aid  of  machines  to  facilitate  any  work 


'nfTV 


556 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


A    MODERN     MEXICAN     I 
OR    TAMENE. 


of  labor.  The  Tlasealans  furnished  eight  thousand  Tamenes,  an 
inferior  order  of  men  destined  for  servile  tasks,  to  carry  the  mate- 
rials on  their  shoulders,  and  appointed  fifteen  thousand  warriors 
to  accompany  and  defend  them.  Sandoval  made  the  disposition 
for  their  progress  with  great  propriety,  placing  the  Tamenes  in  the 
centre,  one  body  of  warriors  in  the  front,  another  in  the  rear,  with 
considerable  parties  to  cover  the  flanks.  To  each  of  these  he 
joined  some  Spaniards,  not  only  to  assist  them  in  danger,  but  to 
accustom  them  to  regularity  and  subordination.  A  body  so  numer- 
ous, and  so  much  encumbered,  advanced  leisurely  but  in  excellent 
order ;  and  in  some  places,  where  it  was  confined  by  the  woods  or 
mountains,  the  line  of  march  extended  above  six  miles.  Par- 
ties of  Mexicans  frequently  appeared  hovering  around  them 
on  the  high  grounds  ;  but  perceiving  no  prospect  of  success  in 
attacking  an  enemj'  continually  on  his  guard,  and  prepared  to 
receive  them,  they  did  not  venture  to  molest  him ;  and  San- 
doval had  the  glory  of  conducting  safely  to  Tezcuco,  a  convoy 
on  which  all  the  future  operations  of  his  countrymen  de- 
pended.  . 

This  was  followed  by  another  event  of  no  less  moment. 
Four  ships  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  from  Hispaniola,  with  two 
hundred  soldiers,  eighty  horses,  two  battering  cannon,  and  a 
considerable  supply  of  ammunition  and  arms.  Elevated  with 
observing  that  all  his  preparatory  schemes,  either  for  recruit- 
ing his  own  armjr,  or  impairing  the  force  of  the  enemy,  had 
fER,  now  produced  their  full  effect,  Cortes,  impatient  to  begin 
the  siege  in  form,  hastened  the  launching  of  the  brigan- 
tines.  To  facilitate  this,  he  had  employed  a  vast  number  of 
Indians  for  two  months,  in  deepening  the  small  rivulet  which 
runs  by  Tezcuco  into  the  lake,  and  in  forming  it  into  a  canal 
near  two  miles  in  length  ;  and  though  the  Mexicans,  aware  of  his 
intentions,  as  well  as  of  the  danger  which  threatened  them,  en- 
deavored frequently  to  interrupt  the  laborers,  or  to  burn  the  brigan- 
tines,  the  work  was  at  last  completed.  On  the  2Sth  of  April,  all 
the  Spanish  troops,  together  with  the  auxiliary  Indians,  were  drawn 
up  on  the  banks  of  the  canal ;  and  with  extraordinary  military  pomp, 
rendered  more  solemn  by  the  celebration  of  the  most  sacred  rites 
of  religion,  the  brigantines  were  launched.  As  they  fell  down  the 
canal  in  order,  Father  Olmedo  blessed  them,  and  gave  each  its  name. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  557 

Every  eye  followed  them  with  wonder  and  hope,  until  they  entered 
the  lake,  when  they  hoisted  their  sails,  and  bore  away  before  the 
wind.  A  general  shout  of  joy  was  raised  ;  all  admiring  that  bold 
inventive  genius,  which,  by  means  so  extraordinary  that  their  suc- 
cess almost  exceeded  belief,  had  acquired  the  command  of  a  fleet, 
without  the  aid  of  which  Mexico  would  have  continued  to  set  the 
Spanish  power  and  arms  at  defiance. 

Cortes  determined  to  attack  the  city  from  three  different  quart- 
ers ;  from  Tepeaca  on  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  from  Tacuba  on 
the  west,  and  from  Cuyocan  towards  the  south.  Those  towns  were 
situated  on  the  principal  causeways  which  led  to  the  capital,  and 
intended  for  their  defense.  He  appointed  Sandoval  to  command 
in  the  first,  Pedro  de  Alvarado  in  the  second,  and  Christoval  de 
Olid  in  the  third ;  allotting  to  each  a  numerous  body  of  Indian 
auxiliaries,  together  with  an  equal  division  of  Spaniards,  who,  by 
the  junction  of  the  troops  from  Hispaniola,  amounted  now  to 
eighty-six  horsemen,  and  eight  hundred  and  eighteen  foot  soldiers ; 
of  whom  one  hundred  and  eighteen  were  armed  with  muskets  or 
crossbows.  The  train  of  artillery  consisted  of  three  battering  can- 
non, and  fifteen  field-pieces.  He  reserved  for  himself,  as  the  station 
of  greatest  importance  and  danger,  the  conduct  of  the  brigantines, 
each  armed  with  one  of  his  small  cannon,  and  manned  with  twenty- 
five  Spaniards. 

As  Alvarado  and  Olid  proceeded  towards  the  posts  assigned 
them  [May  10],  they  broke  down  the  aqueducts  which  the  ingenuity 
of  the  Mexicans  had  erected  for  conveying  water  into  the  capital, 
and,  by  the  distress  to  which  this  reduced  the  inhabitants,  gave  a 
beginning  to  the  calamities  which  they  were  destined  to  suffer. 
Alvarado  and  Olid  found  the  towns  of  which  they  were  ordered  to 
take  possession  deserted  by  their  inhabitants,  who  had  fled  for 
safety  to  the  capital,  where  Guatemotzin  had  collected  the  chief 
force  of  his  empire,  as  there  alone  he  could  hope  to  make  a  success- 
ful stand  against  the  formidable  enemies  who  were  approaching  to 
assault  him. 

The  first  effort  of  the  Mexicans  was  to  destroy  the  fleet  of 
brigantines,  the  fatal  effects  of  whose  operations  they  foresaw  and 
dreaded.  Though  the  brigantines,  after  all  the  labor  and  merit  of 
Cortes  in  forming  them,  were  of  inconsiderable  bulk,  rudely  con- 
structed, and  manned  chiefly   with   landsmen  hardly  possessed  of 


558  THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 

skill  enough  to  conduct  them,  they  must  have  been  objects  of  terror 
to  a  people  unacquainted  with  any  navigation  but  that  of  their  lake, 
and  possessed  of  no  vessel  larger  than  a  canoe.  Necessity,  however, 
urged  Guatemotzin  to  hazard  the  attack ;  and  hoping  to  supply  by 
numbers  what  he  wanted  in  force,  he  assembled  such  a  multitude  of 
canoes  as  covered  the  face  of  the  lake.  They  rowed  on  boldly  to 
the  charge,  while  the  brigantines,  retarded  by  a  dead  calm,  could 
scarcety  advance  to  meet  them.  But  as  the  enemy  drew  near,  a 
breeze  suddenly  sprung  up ;  in  a  moment  the  sails  were  spread,  the 
brigantines,  with  the  utmost  ease,  broke  through  their  feeble  oppo- 
nents, overset  many  canoes,  and  dissipated  the  whole  armament 
with  such  slaughter,  as  convinced  the  Mexicans,  that  the  progress 
of  the  Europeans  in  knowledge  and  arts  rendered  their  superiority 
greater  on  this  new  element  than  they  had  hitherto  found  it  by 
land. 

From  that  time  Cortes  remained  master  of  the  lake,  and  the 
brigantines  not  only  preserved  a  communication  between  the  Span- 
iards in  their  different  stations,  though  at  considerable  distance 
from  each  other,  but  were  employed  to  cover  the  causeways  on  each 
side,  and  keep  off  the  canoes,  when  they  attempted  to  annoy  the 
troops  as  they  advanced  towards  the  city.  Cortes  formed  the  brig- 
antines in  three  divisions,  appointing  one  to  cover  each  of  the 
stations  from  which  an  attack  was  to  be  carried  on  against  the  city; 
with  orders  to  second  the  operations  of  the  officer  who  commanded 
there.  From  all  the  three  stations  he  pushed  on  the  attack  against 
the  city  with  equal  vigor  ;  but  in  a  manner  so  very  different  from 
the  conduct  of  sieges  in  regular  war,  that  he  himself  seemed  afraid 
it  would  appear  no  less  improper  than  singular  to  persons  unac- 
quainted with  his  situation.  Each  morning  his  troops  assaulted 
the  barricades  which  the  enemy  had  erected  on  the  causeways, 
forced  their  way  over  the  trenches  which  they  had  dug,  and  through 
the  canals  where  the  bridges  were  broken  down,  and  endeavored  to 
penetrate  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  in  hopes  of  obtaining  some  de- 
cisive advantage  which  might  force  the  enemy  to  surrender,  and  term- 
inate the  war  at  once ;  but  when  the  obstinate  valor  of  the  Mexicans 
rendered  the  effort  of  the  day  ineffectual,  the  Spaniards  retired  in 
the  evening  to  their  former  quarters.  Thus  their  toil  and  danger 
were,  in  some  measure,  continually  renewed ;  the  Mexicans  repairing 
in  the  night  what  the  Spaniards  had  destroyed  through  the  day, 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


559 


and  recovering  the  posts  from  which  they  had  driven  them.  But 
necessity  prescribed  this  slow  and  untoward  mode  of  operation. 
The  number  of  his  troops  were  so  small,  that  Cortes  durst  not,  with 
a-  handful  of  men,  attempt  to  make  a  lodgment  in  a  city  where  he 
might  be  surrounded  and  annoyed  by  such  a  multitude  of  enemies. 
The  remembrance  of  what  he  had  already  suffered  by  the  ill-judged 
confidence  with  which  he  had  ventured  into  such  a  dangerous  situ- 
ation, was  still  fresh  in  his  mind.  The  Spaniards,  exhausted  with 
fatigue,  were  unable  to  guard  the  vari- 
ous posts  which  they  daily  gained  ;  and 
though  their  camp  was  filled  with  In- 
dian auxiliaries,  they  durst  not  devolve 
this  charge  upon  them,  because  they 
were  so  little  accustomed  to  discipline, 
that  no  confidence  could  be  placed  in 
their  vigilance.  Besides  this,  Cortes 
was  extremely  solicitous  to  preserve  the 
city  as  much  as  possible  from  being 
destroyed,  both  because  he  destined  it 
to  be  the  capital  of  his  conquests,  and 
wished  that  it  might  remain  as  a  monu- 
ment of  his  glory.  From  all  these  con- 
siderations, he  adhered  obstinately,  for 
a  month  after  the  siege  was  opened,  to 
the  system  which  he  had  adopted. 
The  Mexicans,  in  their  own  defense, 
displayed  valor  which  was  hardly  in- 
ferior to  that  with  which  the  Spaniards 
attacked  them.  On  land,  on  water,  by 
night  and  by  day,  one  furious  conflict 
succeeded  to  another.  Several  Spaniards  were  killed,  more  wounded, 
and  all  were  ready  to  sink  under  the  toils  of  unremitting  service, 
which  were  rendered  more  intolerable  by  the  injuries  of  the  season, 
the  periodical  rains  being  now  set  in  with  their  usual  violence. 

Astonished  and  disconcerted  with  the  length  and  difficulties  of 
the  siege,  Cortes  determined  to  make  one  great  effort  to  get  pos- 
session of  the  city,  before  he  relinquished  the  plan  which  he  had 
hitherto  followed,  and  had  recourse  to  any  other  mode  of  attack. 
With   this  view,  he  sent  instructions  to  Alvarado  and  Sandoval  to 


THE   SAGHARIO,    ADJOINING   THE    CATHEDRAL    OF    MEXICO. 
BUILT   ON    THE    RUINS    OF    THE    GREAT    TEMPLE. 


56° 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


THE    MOUSE 


T*E    HOUSE    OF    CORTES   IN    MEXICO.      (FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH.) 
WAS    BUILT    br    INDIAN    LABOR,    UNDER    THE    SUPERINTENDENCE   OF   A   SPANIARD 


advance  with  their  divi- 
sions to  a  general  as- 
sault, and  took  the  com- 
mand in  person  [July 
3]  of  that  posted  on  the 
causeway  of  Cuyocan. 
Animated  by  his  pres- 
ence, and  the  expecta- 
tion of  some  decisive 
event,  the  Spaniards 
pushed  forward  with  ir- 
resistible impetuosity. 
They  broke  through 
one  barricade  after  an- 
other, forced  their  way 
over  the  ditches  and 
canals,  and,  having  en- 
tered the  city,  gained 
ground  incessantly,  in 
spite  of  the  multitude  and  ferocity  of  their  opponents.  Cortes, 
though  delighted  with  the  rapidity  of  his  progress,  did  not  forget 
that  he  might  still  find  it  necessary  to  retreat ;  and,  in  order  to 
secure  it,  appointed  Julian  de  Alderete,  a  captain  of  chief  note  in 
the  troops  which  he  had    received  from  Hispaniola,  to  fill  up  the 

canals  and  gaps  in  the  causeway  as  the 
main  body  advanced.  That  officer, 
deeming  it  inglorious  to  be  thus  em- 
ployed, while  his  companions  were  in 
the  heat  of  action  and  the  career  of 
victory,  neglected  the  important  charge 
committed  to  him,  and  hurried  on,  in- 
considerately, to  mingle  with  the  com- 
batants. The  Mexicans,  whose  mili- 
tary attention  and  skill  were  daily  im- 
proving, no  sooner  observed  this  than 
they  carried  an  account  of  it  to  their 
monarch. 

Guatemotzin    instantly  discerned 
the    consequence  of  the   error   which 


THE    SPANIARDS    FORCING    THEIR   WAY    OVER    DITCHES    AND   CANALS   INTO   THE 
BELEAGUERED  CITV. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


56l 


the  Spaniards  had  committed,  and,  with  admirable  presence  of  mind, 
prepared  to  take  advantage  of  it.  He  commanded  the  troops 
posted  in  the  front  to  slacken  their  efforts,  in  order  to  allure  the 
Spaniards  to  push  forward,  while  he  despatched  a  large  body  of 
chosen  warriors  through  different  streets,  some  by  land,  and  others 
by  water,  towards  the  great  breach  in  the  causeway  which  had 
been  left  open.  On  a  signal  which  he  gave,  the  priests  in  the 
principal  temple  struck  the  great  drum  consecrated  to  the  god  of 
war.  No  sooner  did  the  Mexicans  hear  its  doleful  solemn  sound, 
calculated  to  inspire  them  with  contempt  of  death  and  enthusias- 
tic ardor,  than  they  rushed  upon  the  enemy  with  frantic  rage.  The 
Spaniards,  unable  to  resist  men  urged  on  no  less  by  religious  fury 
than  hope  of  success,  began  to  retreat,  at  first  leisurely,  and  with 
a  good  countenance ;  but  as  the  enemy  pressed  on,  and  their  own 
impatience  to  escape  increased,  the  terror  and  confusion  became  so 
general,  that  when  they  arrived  at  the  gap  in  the  causeway,  Span- 
iards and  Tlascalans,  horsemen  and  infantry,  plunged  in  promis- 
cuously, while  the  Mexicans  rushed  upon  them  fiercely  from  every 
side,  their  light  canoes  carrying  them  through  shoals  which  the 
brigantines  could  not  approach.  In  vain  did  Cortes  attempt  to 
stop  and  rally  his  flying  troops ;  fear  rendered  them  regardless  of 
his  entreaties  or  commands.  Finding  all  his  endeavors  to  renew 
the  combat  fruitless,  his  next  care  was  to  save  some  of  those  who 
had  thrown  them- 
selves into  the 
water;  but  while 
thus  employed,  with 
more  attention  to 
their  situation  than 
to  his  own,  six  Mex- 
ican captains  sud- 
denly laid  hold  of 
him,  and  were  hur- 
rying him  off  in 
triumph;  and 
though  two  of  his 
officers  rescued  him 
a  t  t  h  e  expense  of 
their  own   lives,  he 


THE   GOO   OF    WAR. 

HUITZILOPOCHTU,  OR  VITZ- 

UPUTZLI. 


THE    PRIESTS   ON    THE    TOP   OF    THE    GREAT   TEOCALU    SOUNDING   THE    DRUM    MADE    OF    SNAKE   SKIN,    AND 
CONSECRATED   TO   THE    GOD   OF    WAR. 


562 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


received  several  dangerous  wounds  before  he  could  break  loose. 
Above  sixty  Spaniards  perished  in  the  rout;  and  what  rendered 
the  disaster  more  afflicting,  forty  of  these  fell  alive  into  the  hands 
of  an  enemy  never  known  to  show  mercy  to  a  captive. 

The  approach  of  night,  though  it  delivered  the  dejected  Span- 
iards from  the  attacks  of  the  enemy,  ushered,  in  what  was  hardly 
less  grievous,  the  noise  of  their  barbarous  triumph,  and  of  the 
horrid  festival  with  which  they  celebrated  their  victory.  Every 
quarter  of  the  city  was  illuminated ;  the  great  temple  shone  with 
such  peculiar  splendor,  that  the  Spaniards  could  plainly  see  the 
people  in  motion,  and  the  priests  busy  in  hastening  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  death  of  the  prisoners.  Through  the  gloom,  they 
fancied  that  they  discerned  their  companions  by  the  whiteness  of 
their  skins,  as  they  were  stript  naked,  and  compelled  to  dance  be- 
fore the  image  of  the  god  to  whom  they  were  to  be  offered.  They 
heard  the  shrieks  of  those  who  were  sacrificed, 
and  thought  that  they  could  distinguish  each 
unhappy  victim,  by  the  well-known  sound 
of  his  voice.  Imagination  added  to  what 
they  really  saw  or  heard,  and  augmented 
its  horror.  The  most  unfeeling  melted 
into  tears  of  compassion,  and  the 
stoutest  heart  trembled  at  the  dreadful 
spectacle  which  they  beheld. 

Cortes,    who,  besides    all    that  he 
ielt    in    common    with    his    soldiers, 
was  oppiessed  with  the  additional 
load  of  anxious  reflections  natural 
to  a  general  on  such  an  unex- 
pected calamity,  could  not,  like 
them,  relieve  his  mind  by  giving 
vent  to    its  anguish.       He    was 
obliged  to  assume  an  air  of  tran- 
quillity, in  order  to  revive  the 
spirit  and  hopes  of  his  follow- 
ers.    The  juncture,  indeed,  re- 
quired   an    extraordinary   exer- 
tion  of   fortitude.     The    Mexi- 
cans, elated  with  their  victory, 


SACRIFICE    OF    FORTY    SPANIARDS    AND    HUNDREDS    OF    TLASCALANS,    CAPTURED    BY 
GUATEMOTZIN    DURING   THE    ASSAULT   UPON    THE    CITY. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO 


563 


HUITZILOPOCHTU,    OR    VITZUPUTZLI,    THE 
FROM    A    SCULPTURE    FOUND    NEAR 


sallied  out  next  morning  to  attack  him  in  his  quarters.  But 
they  did  not  rely  on  the  efforts  of  their  own  arms  alone.  They 
sent  the  heads  of  the  Spaniards  whom  they  had 
sacrificed,  to  the  leading  men  in  the  adjacent  prov- 
inces, and  assured  them  that  the  god  of  war,  ap- 
peased by  the  blood  of  their  invaders,  which  had 
been  shed  so  plentifully  on  his  altars,  had  declared 
with  an  audible  voice,  that  in  eight  days'  time  those 
hated  enemies  should  be  finally  destroyed,  and 
peace  and  prosperity  re-established  in  the  empire. 
A  prediction  uttered  with  such  confidence, 
and  in  terms  so  void  of  ambiguity,  gained  universal 
credit  among  a  people  prone  to  superstition.  The 
zeal  of  the  provinces,  which  had  already  declared 
against  the  Spaniards,  augmented ;  and  several, 
which  had  hitherto  remained  inactive,  took  arms,  with  enthusiastic 
ardor,  to  execute  the  decree  of  the  gods.  The  Indian  auxiliaries  who 
had  joined  Cortea,  accustomed  to  venerate  the  same  deities  with  the 
Mexicans,  and  to  receive  the  responses  of  their  priests  with  the 
same  implicit  faith,  abandoned  the  Spaniards  as  a  race  of  men  de- 
voted to  certain  destruction.  Even  the  fidelity  of  the  Tlascalans 
was  shaken,  and  the  Spanish  troops  were  left  almost  alone  in  their 
stations.  Cortes,  finding  that  he  attempted  in  vain  to  dispel  the 
superstitious  fears  of  his  confederates  by  argument,  took  advan- 
tage, from  the  imprudence  of  those  who  had  framed  the  prophecy, 
in  fixing  its  accomplishment  so  near  at  hand,  to  give  a  striking 
demonstration  of  its  falsity.  He  suspended  all  military  opera- 
tions during  the  period  marked  out  by  the  oracle.  Under  cover 
of  the  brigantines,  which  kept  the  enemy  at  a  distance,  his  troops 
lay  in  safety,  and  the  fatal  term  expired  without  any  disaster. 


GOD   OF    WAR. 
Ml  TLA. 


STATUE   OF    THE    GOD   TLALOC,    OF    TLASCALA.      MUSEUM    OF   MEXICO. 
''SEE    PAGES    456,  497,  and   51 1.^ 


CHAPTER   LXII. 


CORTES    REGAINS    THE    FRIENDSHIP    OF    HIS    INDIAN    ALLIES,   AND    ADOPTS    A    NEW    SYSTEM 

OF    ATTACK. 


Sr-^ANY  of  his  allies,  ashamed  of  their  own 
credulity,  returned  to  their  station.  Other 
tribes,  judging  that  the  gods,  who  had  now 
deceived  the  Mexicans,  had  decreed  finally 
to  withdraw  their  protection  from  them, 
joined  his  standard;  and  such  was  the 
levity  of  a  simple  people,  moved  by  every  slight  impression,  that,  in 
a  short  time  after  such  a  general  defection  of  his  confederates,  Cortes 
saw  himself,  if  we  may  believe  his  own  account,  at  the  head  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Indians.  Even  with  such  a  numerous 
army,  he  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  a  new  and  more  wary  sj-stem 
of  operation.  Instead  of  renewing  his  attempts  to  become  master 
of  the  city  at  once,  by  such  bold  but  dangerous  efforts  of  valor 
as  he  had  already  tried,  he  made  his  advances  gradually,  and  with 
ever)'  possible  precaution  against  exposing  his  men  to  any  calamity 
similar  to  that  which  they  still  bewailed.  As  the  Spaniards 
pushed  forward,  the  Indians  regularly  repaired  the  causeways  be- 
hind them.  As  soon  as  they  got  possession  of  any  part  of  the 
town,  the  houses  were  instantly  leveled  with  the  ground.  Day  by 
day,  the  Mexicans,  forced  to  retire  as  their  enemies  gained  ground, 
were  hemmed  in  within  more  narrow  limits.  Guatemotzin,  though 
unable  to  stop  the  career  of  the  enemy,  continued  to  defend  his 
capital  with  obstinate  resolution,  and  disputed  every  inch  of 
ground.  The  Spaniards  not  only  varied  their  mode  of  attack, 
but,  by  orders  of  Cortes,   changed  the  weapons  with   which  they 


fsM 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


565 


fought.  They  were  again  armed  with  the  long  Chinantlan  spears 
which  they  had  employed  with  such  success  against  Narvaez ;  and, 
by  the  firm  array  in  which  this  enabled  them  to  range  themselves, 
they  repelled,  with  little  danger,  the  loose  assault  of  the  Mexicans; 
incredible  numbers  of  them  fell  in  the  conflicts  which  they  renewed 
every  day.  While  war  wasted  without,  famine  began  to  consume 
them  within  the  city.  The  Spanish  brigantines,  having  the  entire 
command  of  the  lake,  rendered  it  almost  impossible  to  convey  to 
the  besieged  any  sup- 


ply of  provisions  by 
water.  The  immense 
number  of  his  Indian 
auxiliaries  enabled 
Cortes  to  shut  up  the 
avenues  to  the  city  by 
land.  The  stores  which 
Guatemotzin  had  laid 
up  were  exhausted  by 
the  multitudes  which 
had  crowded  into  the 
capital  to  defend  their 
sovereign  and  the  tem- 
ples of  their  gods.  Not 
only  the  people,  but 
persons  of  the  highest 
rank,  felt  the  utmost 
distress  of  famine. 
What  they  suffered, 
brought  on  infectious 
and  mortal  distempers, 
the  last  calamity  that 
visits  besieged  cities, 
and  filled  up  the  meas- 
ure of  their  woes. 

But,  under  the  pres- 
sure of  so  many  and 
such  various  evils,  the 
spirit  of  Guatemotzin 
remained  firm  and  un- 


THE    HEROIC   GUATEMOTZIN    DEFENDS   THE    PALLADIUM    OF    HIS   COUNTRY    WITH    OBSTINATE    RESOLUTION, 
DISPUTING    EVERY    INCH    OF    GflOUNO. 


566  THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 

subdued.  He  rejected,  with  scorn,  every  overture  of  peace  from  Cor- 
tes ;  and,  disdaining  the  idea  of  submitting  to  the  oppressors  of  his 
country,  determined  not  to  survive  its  ruin.  The  Spaniards  con- 
tinned  their  progress.  At  length  all  the  three  divisions  penetrated 
into  the  great  square  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  made  a  secure 
lodgment  there  [July  27].  Three-fourths  of  the  city  were  now 
reduced  and  laid  in  ruins.  The  remaining  quarter  was  so  closely 
pressed,  that  it  could  not  long  withstand  assailants,  who  attacked 
it  from  their  new  station  with  superior  advantage,  and  more 
assured  expectation  of  success.  The  Mexican  nobles,  solicitous 
to  save  the  life  of  a  monarch  whom  they  revered,  prevailed  on 
Guatemotzin  to  retire  from  a  place  where  resistance  was  now 
vain,  that  he  might  rouse  the  more  distant  provinces  of  the  em- 
pire to  arms,  and  maintain  there  a  more  successful  struggle  with 
the  public  eneni}-.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  this 
measure,  they  endeavored  to  amuse  Cortes  with  overtures  of 
submission,  that,  while  his  attention  was  employed  in  adjust- 
ing the  articles  of  pacification,  Guatemotzin  might  escape  un- 
perceived.  But  they  made  this  attempt  upon  a  leader  of  greater 
sagacity  and  discernment  than  to  be  deceived  by  their  arts.  Cor- 
tes, suspecting  their  intention,  and  aware  of  what  moment  it  was 
to  defeat  it,  appointed  Sandoval,  the  officer  on  whose  vigilance  he 
could  most  perfectly  rely,  to  take  the  command  of  the  brigantines, 
with  strict  injunctions  to  watch  every  motion  of  the  enemy.  San- 
doval, attentive  to  the  charge,  observing  some  large  canoes  crowded 
with  people  rowing  across  the  lake  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  in- 
stantly gave  the  signal  to  chase.  Garcia  Holguin,  who  commanded 
the  swiftest-sailing  brigantine,  soon  overtook  them,  and  was  pre- 
paring to  fire  on  the  foremost  canoe,  which  seemed  to  carry  some 
person  whom  all  the  rest  followed  and  obeyed.  At  once,  the  rowers 
dropped  their  oars,  and  all  on  board,  throwing  down  their  arms, 
conjured  him  with  cries  and  tears  to  forbear,  as  the  emperor  was 
there.  Holguin  eagerly  seized  his  prize ;  and  Guatemotzin,  with 
a  dignified  composure,  gave  himself  up  into  his  hands,  requesting 
only  that  no  insult  might  be  offered  to  the  empress  or  his  children. 
When  conducted  to  Cortes,  he  appeared  neither  with  the  sullen 
fierceness  of  a  barbarian,  nor  with  the  dejection  of  a  supplicant. 
"  I  have  done,"  said  he,  addressing  himself  to  the  Spanish  general, 
u  what  became  a  monarch.     I  have  defended  my  people  to  the  last 


(5<V) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


569 


extremity.  Nothing  now  remains  but  to  die.  Take  this  dagger," 
laying  his  hand  on  one  which  Cortes  wore,  "  plant  it  in  my  breast, 
and  put  an  end  to  a  life  which  can  no  longer  be  of  use." 

As  soon  as  the  fate  of  their  sovereign  was  known,  the  resist- 
ance of  the  Mexicans  ceased ;  and  Cortes  took  possession  of  that 
small  part  of  the  capital  which  yet  remained  uudestroyed  [Aug.  13]. 
Thus  terminated  the  siege  of  Mexico,  the  most  memorable  event  in 
the  conquest  of  America.  It  continued  seventy-five  days,  hardly 
one  of  which  passed  without  some  extraordinary  effort  of  one  party 
in  the  attack,  or  of  the  other  in  the  defense  of  a  city,  on  the  fate  of 
which  both  knew  that  the  fortune  of  the  em- 
pire depended.  As  the  struggle  here  was 
more  obstinate,  it  was  likewise  more  equal, 
than  any  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old 
and  New  Worlds.  The  great  abilities  of 
Guatemotzin,  the  number  of  his  troops,  the 
peculiar  situation  of  his  capital,  so  far  counter- 
balanced the  superiority  of  the  Spaniards  in 
arms  and  discipline,  that  they  must  have  re- 
linquished the  enterprise  if  they  had  trusted 
for  success  to  themselves  alone.  But  Mexico 
was  overturned  by  the  jealousy  of  neighbors 
who  dreaded  its  power,  and  by  the  revolt  of 
subjects  impatient  to  shake  off  its  yoke. 
By  their  effectual  aid,  Cortes  was  enabled  to 
accomplish  what,  without  such  support,  he 
would  hardly  have  ventured  to  attempt.  How 
much    soever    this  account    of   the  reduction 

of  Mexico  may  detract,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  marvelous  re- 
lations of  some  Spanish  writers,  by  ascribing  that  to  simple  and 
obvious  causes  which  they  attribute  to  the  romantic  valor  of  their 
countrymen,  it  adds,  on  the  other,  to  the  merit  and  abilities  of  Cor- 
tes, who,  under  every  disadvantage,  acquired  such  an  ascendency 
over  unknown  nations,  as  to  render  them  instruments  towards  car- 
rying his  schemes  into  execution. 

A  procession  of  the  whole  army  was  formed,  with  Father 
Olmedo  at  its  head.  The  soiled  and  tattered  banners  of  Castile, 
which  had  waved  over  many  a  field  of  battle,  now  threw  their  shad- 
ows on  the  peaceful  array  of  the  soldiery,  as  they  slowly  moved 


GUATEMOTZIN    REQUESTS    CORTES   TO    END    HIS    OWN    USELESS    LIFE 
WITH    HIS    POIGNARO. 


57° 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


along,  rehearsing  the  litany,  and  displaying  the  image  of  the  Vir- 
gin and  the  blessed  symbol  of  man's  redemption.  The  reverend 
father  pronounced  a  discourse,  in  which  he  briefly  reminded  the 
troops  of  their  great  cause  for  thankfulness  to  Providence  for  con- 
ducting them  safe  through  their  long  and  perilous  pilgrimage ; 
and,  dwelling  on  the  responsibility  incurred  by  their  present  po- 
sition, he  besought  them  not  to  abuse  the  rights  of  conquest,  but 
to  treat  the  unfortunate  Indians  with  humanity.  The  sacrament 
was  then  administered  to  the  commander-in-chief  and  the  principal 
cavaliers,  and  the  services  concluded  with  a  solemn  thanksgiving 

to  the  God  of  battles, 
who  had  enabled  them  to 
carry  the  banner  of  the 
Cross  triumphant  over 
this  barbaric  empire. 

The  exultation  of  the 
Spaniards,  on  accomp- 
lishing this  arduous  en- 
terprise, was  at  first  ex- 
cessive. But  this  was 
quickly  damped  by  the 
cruel  disappointment  of 
those  sanguine  hopes, 
which  had  animated 
them  amidst  so  many 
hardships  and  dangers. 
Instead  of  the  inexhaust- 
ible wealth  which  they 
expected  from  becoming 
masters  of  Montezuma's 
treasures,  and  the  orna- 
ments of  so  many  tem- 
ples, their  rapaciousness 
could  only  collect  an 
inconsiderable  booty 
amidst  ruin  and  desola- 
tion. Guatemotzin, 
aware  of  his  impending 
fate,    had    ordered    what 


FATHER   OLMEOO    CELEBRATES    MASS    AMIDST    THE    RUINS    OF    GUATEMOTZIN'S   CAPITAL. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


571 


remained  of  the  riches  amassed  by  his  ancestors  to  be  thrown 
into  the  lake.  The  Indian  auxiliaries,  while  the  Spaniards  were 
engaged  in  a  conflict  with  the  enemy,  had  carried  off  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  spoil.  The  sum  to  be  divided  among  the 
conquerors  was  so  small,  that  many  of  them  disdained  to  accept 
of  the  pittance  which  fell  to  their  share,  and  all  murmured  and 
exclaimed ;  some  against  Cortes  and  his  confidants,  whom  they 
suspected  of  having  secretly  appropriated  to  their  own  use  a  large 
portion  of  the  riches  which  should  have  been  brought  into  the 
common  stock ;  others,  against  Guatemotzin,  whom  they  accused  of 
obstinacy  in  refusing  to  discover  the  place  where  he  had  hidden  his 
treasure. 

Arguments,  entreaties,  and  promises  were  employed  in  order 
to  soothe  them,  but  with  so  little  effect,  that  Cortes,  from  solicitude 
to  check  this  growing  spirit  of  discontent,  gave  way  to  a  deed 
which  stains  the  glory  of  all  his  great  actions.  Without  regarding 
the  former  dignity  of  Guatemotzin,  or  feeling  any  reverence  for 
those  virtues  which  he  had  displayed,  he  subjected  the  unhappy 
monarch,  together  with  his  chief  favorite,  to  torture,  in  order  to 
force  from  them  a  discovery  of  the  royal  treasures,  which  it  was 
supposed  he  had  concealed.  Guatemotzin  bore  whatever  the  refined 
cruelty  of  his  tormentors  could  inflict,  with  the  invincible  fortitude 
of  an  American  warrior.  His  fellow-sufferer,  overcome  by  the  vio- 
lence of  the  anguish,  turned  a  dejected  eye  towards  his  master,  which 
seemed  to  implore  his  permission  to  reveal  all  that 
he  knew.  But  the  high-spirited  prince,  darting 
on  him  a  look  of  authority  mingled  with  scorn, 
checked  his  weakness  by  asking,  "Am  I  now  re- 
posing on  a  bed  of  flowers?"  Overawed  by  the 
reproach,  the  favorite  persevered  in  his  dutiful 
silence,  and  expired.  Cortes,  ashamed  of  a  scene 
so  horrid,  rescued  the  royal  victim  from  the  hands 
of  his  torturers,  and  prolonged  a  life  reserved  for 
new  indignities  and  sufferings. 

The  fate  of  the  capital,  as  both  parties  had 
foreseen,  decided  that  of  the  empire.  The  prov- 
inces submitted  one  after  another  to  the  conquer- 
ors. Small  detachments  of  Spaniards  marching 
through  them  without  interruption,  penetrated  in 


GUATEMOTZIN    AND    HIS    FAVORITE    OFFICER    PUT    TO    TORTURE. 
"AM    I    NOW    REPOSING    ON    A    BED    OF    FLOWERS  f '» 


572 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


different  quarters  to  the  great  Southern  Ocean,  which,  according 
to  the  ideas  of  Columbus,  they  imagined  would  open  a  short  as 
well  as  easy  passage  to  the  East  Indies,  and  secure  to  the  crown 
of  Castile  all  the  envied  wealth  of  those  fertile  regions  ;  and  the 
active  mind  of  Cortes  began  already  to  form  schemes  for  attempt- 
ing this   important  discovery. 

He  did  not  know,  that  during  the  progress  of  his  victorious 

arms  in  Mexico,  the 
very  scheme,  of 
which  he  began  to 
form  some  idea,  had 
been  undertaken  and 
accomplished.  As 
this  is  one  of  the 
most  splendid  events 
in  the  history  of  the 
Spanish  discoveries, 
and  has  been  pro- 
ductive of  effects  pe- 
culiarly interesting 
to  those  extensive 
provinces  which  Cor- 
tes had  now  sub- 
jected to  the  crown 
H  of  Castile,  the  ac- 
count of  its  rise  and 
■  progress  merits  a 
particular  detail. 

Ferdinand  Magal- 
haes,  or  Magellan,  a 
Portuguese  gentle- 
man of  honorable 
birth,  having  served 
several  years  in  the 
East  Indies,  with 
distinguished  valor, 
under  the  famous  Al- 
buquerque, demand- 
ed   the     recompense 


FERNAO    DE    MAGALHAES. 

GENERALLY  KNOW*4  *v    THE  NAME  OF   FERDINAND  MAGELLAN.      REDUCED  FAC-SIMILE  OF  COPPER  ENGRAVING  Bv  FERD.  SELMA. 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO.  573 

which  he  thought  due  to  his  services,  with  the  boldness  natural 
to  a  high-spirited  soldier.  But  as  his  general  would  not  grant 
his  suit,  and  he  expected  greater  justice  from  his  sovereign, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  a  good  judge  and  a  generous  rewarder  of 
merit,  he  quitted  India  'abruptly,  and  returned  to  Lisbon.  In 
order  to  induce  Emanuel  to  listen  more  favorably  to  his  claim,  he 
not  only  stated  his  past  services,  but  offered  to  add  to  them  by 
conducting  his  countrymen  to  the  Molucca  or  Spice  Islands,  by 
holding  a  westerly  course  ;  which  he  contended  would  be  both 
shorter  and  less  hazardous  than  that  which  the  Portuguese  now 
followed  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  through  the  immense  extent 
of  the  Eastern  Ocean.  This  was  the  original  and  favorite  project 
of  Columbus,  and  JMagellan  founded  his  hopes  of  success  on  the 
ideas  of  that  great  navigator,  confirmed  by  man}'  observations,  the 
result  of  his  own  naval  experience,  as  well  as  that  of  his  country- 
men in  their  intercourse  with  the  East.  But  though  the  Portu- 
guese monarchs  had  the  merit  of  having  first  awakened  and  encour- 
aged the  spirit  of  discovery  in  that  age,  it  was  their  destiny,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  to  reject  two  grand  schemes  for  this 
purpose,  the  execution  of  which  would  have  been  attended  with  a 
great  accession  of  glory  to  themselves,  and  of  power  to  their  king- 
dom. In  consequence  of  some  ill-founded  prejudice  against  Magel- 
lan, or  of  some  dark  intrigue  which  contemporary  historians  have 
not  explained,  Emanuel  would  neither  bestow  the  recompense  which 
he  claimed,  nor  approve  of  the  scheme  which  he  proposed,  and  dis- 
missed him  with  a  disdainful  coldness  intolerable  to  a  man  conscious 
of  what  he  deserved,  and  animated  with  the  sanguine  hopes  of  suc- 
cess peculiar  to  those  who  are  capable  of  forming  or  of  conducting 
new  and  great  undertakings.  In  a  transport  of  resentment,  Ma- 
gellan formally  renounced  his  allegiance  to  an  ungrateful  master, 
and  fled  to  the  court  of  Castile,  where  he  expected  that  his  talents 
would  be  more  justly  estimated.  He  endeavored  to  recommend 
himself  by  offering  to  execute,  under  the  patronage  of  Spain,  that 
scheme  which  he  had  laid  before  the  court  of  Portugal,  the  accom- 
plishment of  which,  he  knew,  would  wound  the  monarch  against 
whom  he  was  exasperated  in  the  most  tender  part.  In  order  to  es- 
tablish the  justness  of  his  theory,  he  produced  the  same  arguments 
which  he  had  employed  at  Lisbon ;  acknowledging,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  undertaking  was  both  arduous  and  expensive,  as  it 


574  THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 

could  not  be  attempted  but  with  a  squadron  of  considerable  force, 
and  victualled  for  at  least  two  years.  Fortunately,  he  applied  to  a 
minister  who  was  not  apt  to  be  deterred,  either  by  the  boldness  of 
a  design,  or  the  expense  of  carrying  it  into  execution.  Cardinal 
Ximenes,  who  at  that  time  directed  the  a'ffairs  of  Spain,  discerning 
at  once,  what  an  increase  of  wealth  and  glory  would  accrue  to  his 
country  by  the  success  of  Magellan's  proposal,  listened  to  it  with  a 
most  favorable  ear.  Charles  V.,  on  his  arrival  in  his  Spanish  do- 
minions, entered  into  the  measure  with  no  less  ardor,  and  orders 
were  issued  for  equipping  a  proper  squadron  at  the  public  charge, 
of  which  the  command  was  given  to  Magellan,  whom  the  king  hon- 
ored with  the  habit  of  St.  Jago  and  the  title  of  Captain-General. 

On  the  ioth  of  August,  15 19,  Magellan  sailed  from  Seville 
with  five  ships,  which,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  age,  were 
deemed  to  be  of  considerable  force,  though  the  burden  of  the 
largest  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons.  The  crews 
of  the  whole  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  men, 
among  whom  were  some  of  the  most  skillful  pilots  in  Spain, 
and  several  Portuguese  sailors,  in  whose  experience,  as  more  ex- 
tensive, Magellan  placed  still  greater  confidence.  After  touching 
at  the  Canaries,  he  stood  directly  south  towards  the  equinoctial 
line  along  the  coast  of  America,  but  was  so  long  retarded  by 
tedious  calms,  and  spent  so  much  time  in  searching  every  bay 
and  inlet  for  that  communication  with  the  Southern  Ocean  which 
he  wished  to  discover,  that  he  did  not  reach  the  river  De  la  Plata 
till  the  1 2th  of  January  [1520].  That  spacious  opening,  through 
which  its  vast  body  of  waters  pour  into  the  Atlantic,  allured  him  to 
enter ;  but,  after  sailing  up  it  for  some  days,  he  concluded,  from  the 
shallowness  of  the  stream  and  the  freshness  of  the  water,  that  the 
wished-for  strait  was  not  situated  there,  and  continued  his  course 
towards  the  south.  On  the  31st  of  March  he  arrived  in  the  Port  of 
St.  Julian,  about  forty-eight  degrees  south  of  the  line,  where  he 
resolved  to  winter.  In  this  uncomfortable  station  he  lost  one  of  his 
squadron ;  and  the  Spaniards  suffered  so  much  from  the  excessive 
rigor- of  the  climate,  that  the  crews  of  three  of  his  ships,  headed 
by  their  officers,  rose  in  open  mutiny,  and  insisted  on  relinquishing 
the  visionary  project  of  a  desperate  adventurer,  and  returning  di- 
rectly to  Spain.  This  dangerous  insurrection  Magellan  suppressed, 
by  an  effort  oc  courage  no  less  prompt  than  intrepid,  and  inflicted 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


575 


exemplary  punishment  on  the  ringleaders.  With  the  remainder  of 
his  followers,  overawed  but  not  reconciled  to  his  scheme,  he  contin- 
ued his  voyage  towards  the  south,  and  at  length  discovered,  near 
the  fifty-third  degree  of  latitude,  the  mouth  of  a  strait,  into  which 
he  entered,  notwithstanding  the  murmurs  and  remonstrances  of  the 
people  under  his  command.  After  sailing  twenty  days  in  that  wind- 
ing, dangerous  channel,  to  which  he  gave  his  own  name,  and  where 
one  of  his  ships  deserted  him,  the  great  Southern  Ocean  opened  to 


THE   STRAITS   OF    MAGELLAN.     (From  *  Photograph.) 


his  view,  and  with  tears  of  joy  he  returned  thanks  to  Heaven  for 
having  thus  far  crowned  his  endeavors  with  success. 

But  he  was  still  at  a  greater  distance  than  he  imagined  from 
the  object  of  his  wishes.  He  sailed  during  three  months  and  twenty 
days,  in  a  uniform  direction  towards  the  north-west,  without  discov- 
ering land.  In  this  voyage,  the  longest  that  had  ever  been  made  in 
the  unbounded  ocean,  he  suffered  incredible  distress.  His  stock  of 
provisions  was  almost  exhausted,  the  water  became  putrid,  the  men 
were  reduced  to  the  shortest  allowance  with  which  it  was  possible 


576 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


to  sustain  life,  and  the  scurvy,  the  most  dreadful  of  all  the  maladies 
with  which  seafaring  people  are  afflicted,  began  to  spread  among  the 
crew.  One  circumstance  alone  afforded  them  some  consolation ;  they 
enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  course  of  fair  weather,  with  such  favorable 
winds,  that  Magellan  bestowed  on  that  ocean  the  name  of  Pacific, 
which  it  still  retains.  When  reduced  to  such  extremity  that  they 
must  have  sunk  under  their  sufferings,  they  fell  in  with  a  cluster 
of  small  but  fertile  islands  [March  6],  which  afforded  them  refresh- 
ments in  such  abundance,  that  their  health  was  soon  re-established. 
From  these  isles,  which  he  called  de  los  Ladrones,  he  proceeded  on 
his  voyage,  and  soon  made  a  more  important  discovery  of  the  isl- 
ands now  known  by  the  name  of  the  Philippines.  In  one  of  these  he 
got  into  an  unfortunate  quarrel  with  the  natives,  who  attacked  him 

U  with  a  numerous  body  of 
troops  well  armed ;  and 
while  he  fought  at  the  head 
of  his  men  with  his  usual 
valor,  he  fell  [April  26]  by 
the  hands  of  those  bar- 
barians, together  with  sev- 
eral of  his  principal  offi- 
cers. 

The  expedition  was  pros- 
ecuted under  other  com- 
manders. After  visiting 
many  of  the  smaller  isles 
scattered  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Indian  ocean,  they 
touched  at  the  great  island 
of  Borneo  [Nov.  8],  and  at 
length  landed  in  Tidore, 
one  of  the  Moluccas,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  Portu- 
guese, who  could  not  com- 
prehend how  the  Spaniards, 
by  holding  a  westerly 
course,  had  arrived  at  that 
sequestered  seat  of  their 
most    valuable    commerce, 


THE    DEATH    OF    MAGELLAN   ON    THE    ISLAND   OF    MACTAN. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO.  577 

which  they  themselves  had  discovered  by  sailing  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion. There,  and  in  the  adjacent  isles,  the  Spaniards  found  a  people, 
acquainted  with  the  benefits  of  extensive  trade,  and  willing  to  open 
an  intercourse  with  a  new  nation.  They  took  in  a  cargo  of  the 
precious  spices,  which  are  the  distinguished  production  of  these 
islands ;  and  with  that,  as  well  as  with  specimens  of  the  rich  com- 
modities yielded  by  the  other  countries  which  they  had  visited,  the 
Victory,  which,  of  the  two  ships  that  remained  of  the  squadron,  was 
most  fit  for  a  long  voyage,  set  sail  for  Europe  [Jan.  1522],  under 
the  command  of  Juan  Sebastian  del  Cano.  He  followed  the  course 
of  the  Portuguese,  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  after  many  dis- 
asters and  sufferings  he  arrived  at  St.  Lucar  on  the  7th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1522,  having  sailed  round  the  globe  in  the  space  of  three  years 
and  twenty-eight  days. 

Though  an  untimely  fate  deprived  Magellan  of  the  satisfaction 
of  accomplishing  this  great  undertaking,  his  contemporaries,  just 
to  his  memory  and  talents,  ascribed  to  him  not  only  the  honor  of 
having  formed  the  plan,  but  of  having  surmounted  almost  every 
obstacle  to  the  completion  of  it ;  and,  in  the  present  age,  his  name 
is  still  ranked  among  the  highest  in  the  roll  of  eminent  and  suc- 
cessful navigators.  The  naval  glory  of  Spain  now  eclipsed  that  of 
every  other  nation  ;  and  by  a  singular  felicity  she  had  the  merit,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  of  discovering  a  new  continent  almost  as 
large  as  that  part  of  the  earth  which  was  formerly  known,  and  of 
ascertaining  by  experience  the  form  and  extent  of  the  whole  ter- 
raqueous globe. 

The  Spaniards  were  not  satisfied  with  the  glory  of  having  first 
encompassed  the  earth  ;  they  expected  to  derive  great  commercial 
advantages  from  this  new  and  boldest  effort  of  their  maritime  skill. 
The  men  of  science  among  them  contended,  that  the  Spice  Islands, 
and  several  of  the  richest  countries  in  the  East,  were  so  situated  as 
to  belong  of  right  to  the  crown  of  Castile,  in  consequence  of  the 
partitions  made  by  Alexander  VI.  The  merchants,  without  attend- 
ing to  this  discussion,  engaged  eagerly  in  that  lucrative  and  allur- 
ing commerce,  which  was  now  open  to  them.  The  Portuguese, 
alarmed  at  the  intrusion  of  such  formidable  rivals,  remonstrated 
and  negotiated  in  Europe,  while  in  Asia  they  obstructed  the  trade 
of  the  Spaniards  by  force  of  arms.  Charles  V.,  not  sufficiently  in- 
structed with  respect  to  the  importance  of  this  valuable  branch  of 


57S 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO. 


commerce,  or  distracted  by  the  multiplicity  of  his  schemes  and 
operations,  did  not  afford  his  subjects  proper  protection.  At  last, 
the  low  state  of  his  finances,  exhausted  by  the  efforts  of  his  arms 
in  every  part  of  Europe,  together  with  the  dread  of  adding  a  new 
war  with  Portugal  to  those  in  which  he  was  already  engaged,  in- 
duced him  to  make  over  his  claim  of  the  Moluccas  to  the  Portu- 
guese for  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ducats.  He  reserved, 
however,  to  the  crown  of  Castile  the  right  of  reviving  its  preten- 
sions on  repayment  of  that  sum;  but  other  objects  engrossed  his 
attention  and  that  of  his  successors  ;  and  Spain  was  finally  excluded 
from  a  branch  of  commerce  in  which  it  was  engaging  with  sanguine 
expectations  of  profit. 

Though  the  trade  with  the  Moluccas  was  relinquished,  the  voy- 
age of  Magellan  was  followed  by  commercial  effects  of  great  moment 
to  Spain.  Philip  II.,  in  the  year  1564,  reduced  those  islands  which 
he  discovered  in  the  Eastern  ocean  to  subjection,  and  established 
settlements  there ;  between  which  and  the  kingdom  of  New  Spain 
a  regular  intercourse,  the  nature  of  which  shall  be  explained  in  its 
proper  place,  is  still  carried  on.  I  return  now  to  the  transactions  in 
New  Spain. 


NATIVES    OF    THE    LADRONE    ISLANDS. 

The  enlarging  of  the  car  lobe  is  accomplished  by  the  insertion,  from  time   to  time  of  wooden  plugs,  varyiog  in 
diameter,  until  the  desired  size  is  attained. 


CHAPTER   LXIII. 


AN     ORDER    TO    SUPERSEDE    CORTES,    WHICH     HE     ELUDES,    ARRIVES     FROM     SPAIN.       HE    DE- 
SPATCHES   DEPUTIES,  WHO  SUCCEED    IN    HAVING    HIM   APPOINTED   CAPTAIN-GENERAL 
AND   GOVERNOR   OF   NEW  SPAIN.      INSURRECTION    OF  THE    MEXICANS.      POV- 
ERTY OF   THE   CONQUERORS.     CORTES   RETURNS  TO   SPAIN,  FORMS 
NEW  SCHEMES   OF    DISCOVERY.      HIS   DEATH. 


T  the  time  that  Cortes  was  acquiring 
such  extensive  territories  for  his  native 
country,  and  preparing  the  way  for  fu- 
ture conquests,  it  was  his  singular  fate 
not  only  to  be  destitute  of  an}'  com- 
mission or  authority  from  the  sover- 
eign whom  he  was  serving  with  such 
successful  zeal,  but  to  be  regarded  as 
an  undutiful  and  seditious  subject. 
By  the  influence  of  Fonseca,  Bishop  of 
Burgos,  his  conduct  in  assuming  the  gov- 
ernment of  New  Spain  was  declared  to  be  an 
irregular  usurpation,  in  contempt  of  the  royal 
authority  ;  and  Christoval  de  Tapia  received  a 
commission,  empowering  him  to  supersede  Cor- 
tes, to  seize  his  person,  to  confiscate  his  effects, 
to  make  a  strict  scrutiny  into  his  proceedings,  and  to  transmit  the 
result  of  all  the  inquiries  carried  on  in  New  Spain  to  the  Council 
of  the  Indies,  of  which  the  Bishop  of  Burgos  was  president.  A 
few  weeks  after  the  reduction  of  Mexico,  Tapia  landed  at  Vera 
Cruz  with  the  royal  mandate  to  strip  its  conqueror  of  his  power, 
and  treat  him  as  a  criminal.  But  Fonseca  had  chosen  a  very  im- 
proper instrument   to  wreak  his  vengeanee  on  Cortes.     Tapia  had 


<579> 


58o 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


neither  the  reputation  nor  the  talents  that  suited  the  high  com- 
mand to  which  he  was  appointed.  Cortes,  while  he  publicly  ex- 
pressed the  most  respectful  veneration  for  the  emperor's  authority, 
secretly  took  measures  to  defeat  the  effect  of  his  commission;  and 
having  involved  Tapia  and  his  followers  in  a  multiplicity  of  nego- 
tiations and  conferences,  in  which  he  sometimes  had  recourse  to 
threats,  but  more  frequently  employed  bribes  and  promises,  he  at 
leugth  prevailed  on  that  weak  man  to  abandon  a  province  which  he 
was  unworthy  of  governing. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  fortunate  dexterity  with  which  he 
had  eluded  this  danger,  Cortes  was  so  sensible  of  the  precarious 
tenure  by  which  he  held  his  power,  that  he  despatched  deputies  to 
Spain  [May  15],  with  a  pompous  account  of  the  success  of  his 
arms,  with  further  specimens  of  the  productions  of  the  country, 
and  with  rich  presents  to  the  emperor,  as  the  earnest  of  future 
contributions  from  his  new  conquests;  requesting,  in  recompense 
for  all  his  services,  the  approbation  of  his  proceedings,  and  that 
he  might  be  intrusted  with  the  government  of  those  dominions, 
which  his  conduct  and  the  valor  of  his  followers  had  added  to  the 
crown  of  Castile.  The  juncture  in  which  his  deputies  reached  the 
court  was  favorable.  The  internal  commotions  in  Spain,  which 
had  disquieted  the  beginning  of  Charles'  reign,  were  just  appeased. 

The  ministers  had  leisure  to  turn  their 
attention  towards  foreign  affairs.  The 
account  of  Cortes'  victories  filled  his 
countrymen  with  admiration.  The  ex- 
tent and  value  of  his  conquests  became 
the  object  of  vast  and  interesting  hopes. 
Whatever  stain  he  might  have  contracted, 
by  the  irregularity  of  the  steps  which  he 
took  in  order  to  attain  power,  was  so  fully 
effaced  by  the  splendor  and  merit  of  the 
ereat  actions  which  this  had  enabled  him 
to  perform,  that  every  heart  revolted  at 
the  thought  of  inflicting  any  censure  on  a 
man,  whose  services  entitled  him  to  the 
highest  marks  of  distinction.  The  public 
voice  declared  warmly  in  favor  of  his  pre- 
tensions; and  Charles,  arriving  in  Spain 


(AFTER   TITIAN.) 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


58l 


about  this  time,  adopted  the  sentiments  of  his  subjects  with  a 
youthful  ardor.  Notwithstanding  the  claims  of  Velasquez,  and  the 
partial  representations  of  the  Bishop  of  Burgos,  the  emperor  ap- 
pointed Cortes  captain-general  and  governor  of  New  Spain,  judging 
that  no  person  was  so  capable  of  maintaining  the  royal  authority, 
or  of  establishing  good  order,  both  among  his  Spanish  and  Indian 
subjects,  as  the  victorious  leader  whom  the  former  had  long  been 
accustomed  to  obey,  and  the  latter  had  been  taught  to  fear  and  to 
respect. 

Even  before  his  jurisdiction  received  this  legal  sanction,  Cortes 
ventured  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of  a  governor,  and,  by  various 
arrangements,  endeavored  to  render  his  conquest  a  secure  and 
beneficial  acquisition  to  his  country.  He  determined  to  establish 
the  seat  of  government  in  its  ancient  station, 
and  to  raise  Mexico  again  from  its  ruins;  and 
having  conceived  high  ideas  concerning  the 
future  grandeur  of  the  state  of  which  he  was 
laying  the  foundation,  he  began  to  rebuild  its 
capital  on  a  plan  which  hath  gradually  formed 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  cities  in  the  New 
World.  At  the  same  time,  he  employed  skillful  persons  to  search  for 
mines,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  opened  some  which  were 
found  to  be  richer  than  any  which  the  Spaniards  had  hitherto  dis- 
covered in  America.  He  despatched  his  principal  officers  into  the 
remote  provinces,  and  encouraged  them  to  settle  there,  not  only  by 
bestowing  upon  them  large  tracts  of  land,  but  by  granting  them 
the  same  dominion  over  the  Indians,  and  the  same  right  to  their 
service,  which  the  Spaniards  had  assumed  in  the  islands. 

It  was  not,  however,  without  difficulty  that  the  Mexican  empire 
could  be  entirely  reduced  into  the  form  of  a  Spanish  colony.  En- 
raged and  rendered  desperate  by  oppression, 
the  natives  often  forgot  the  superiority  of 
their  enemies,  and  ran  to  arms  in  defense  of 
their  liberties.  In  every  contest,  however, 
the  European  valor  and  discipline  prevailed. 
But,  fatally  for  the  honor  of  their  country, 
the  Spaniards  sullied  the  glory  redounding 
from  these  repeated  victories  by  their  mode 
of  treating  the  vanquished   people.      After 


CHURCH  AND  HOSPITAL  OF  JESUS  IN  MEXICO. 
FOUNDED  BY  CORTES. 


GALLERIES  AND  PATIOS  OF  THE   HOSPITAL  OF  JESUS. 


5§2 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


IGNOMINIOUS  AND   EXCRUCIATING  TORTURE 
OF  A  MEXICAN  CAClQUE. 


taking  Guatemotzin,  and  becoming  masters  of  his  capital,  they  sup- 
posed that  the  king  of  Castile  entered  on  possession  of  all  the  rights 
of  the  captive  monarch,  and  affected  to  consider  every  effort  of  the 
Mexicans  to  assert  their  own  independence,  as  the  rebellion  of 
vassals  against  their  sovereign,  or  the  mutiny  of  slaves  against  their 
master.  Under  the  sanction  of  those  ill-founded  maxims,  they  vio- 
lated every  right  that  should  be  held  sacred  between  hostile  nations. 
After  each  insurrection,  they  reduced  the  common  people,  in  the 
provinces  which  they  subdued,  to  the  most  humiliating  of  all  con- 
ditions, that  of  personal  servitude.  Their 
chiefs,  supposed  to  be  more  criminal,  were 
punished  with  greater  severity,  and  put  to 
death  in  the  most  ignominious  or  the  most 
excruciating  mode  that  the  insolence  or  the 
cruelty  of  their  conquerors  could  devise. 
In  almost  ever)-  district  of  the  Mexican 
empire,  the  progress  of  the  Spanish  arms 
is  marked  with  blood,  and  with  deeds  so 
atrocious  as  disgrace  the  enterprising  valor 
that  conducted  them  to  success.  Iu  the 
country  of  Panuco,  sixty  caciques  or 
leaders,  and  four  hundred  nobles,  were 
burned  at  one  time.  Nor  was  this  shock- 
ing barbarity  perpetrated  in  any  sudden 
sally  of  rage,  or  by  a  commander  of  inferior  note.  It  was 
the  act  of  Sandoval,  an  officer  whose  name  is  entitled  to 
the  second  rank  in  the  annals  of  New  Spain,  and  executed 
after  a  solemn  consultation  with  Cortes;  and  to  complete 
the  horror  of  the  scene,  the  children  and  relations  of  the 
wretched  victims  were  assembled,  and  compelled  to  be  spec- 
tators of  their  dying  agonies.  It  seems  hardly  possible  to  ex- 
ceed in  horror  this  dreadful  example  of  severity ;  but  it  was 
followed  by  another,  which  affected  the  Mexicans  still  more  sensi- 
bly, as  it  gave  them  a  most  feeling  proof  of  their  own  degrad- 
ation, and  of  the  small  regard  which  their  haughty  masters  re- 
tained for  the  ancient  dignity  and  splendor  of  their  state.  On 
a  slight  suspicion,  confirmed  by  very  imperfect  evidence,  that 
Guatemotzin  had  formed  a  scheme  to  shake  off  the  yoke,  and  to 
excite  his  former  subjects  to  take  arms,  Cortes,  without  the  form- 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    MEXICO. 


583 


ality  of  a  trial,  ordered  the  unhappy  monarch,  together  with 
the  caciques  of  Tezcuco  and  Tacuba,  the  two  persons  of  greatest 
eminence  in  the  empire,  to  be  hanged  ;  and  the  Mexicans,  with 
astonishment  and  horror,  beheld  this  disgraceful  punishment  in- 
flicted upon  persons,  to  whom  they  were  accustomed  to  look  up 
with  reverence,  hardly  inferior  to  that  which  they  paid  to  the  gods 
themselves.  The  example  of  Cortes  and  his  principal  officers  en- 
couraged and  justified  persons  of  subordinate  rank  to  venture  upon 
committing  greater  excesses.  Nufio  de  Guzman,  in  particular, 
stained  an  illustrious  name  by  deeds  of  peculiar  enormity  and  rigor, 
in  various  expeditions  which  he  conducted. 

One  circumstance,  however,  saved  the  Mexicans  from  further 
consumption,  perhaps  from  one  as  complete  as  that  which  had  de- 
populated the  islands.  The  first  conquerors  did  not  attempt  to  search 
for  the  precious  metals  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  They  were 
neither  sufficiently  wealthy  to  carry  on  the  expensive  works,  which 
are  requisite  for  opening  those  deep  recesses  where  nature  has  con- 
cealed the  veins  of  gold  and  silver,  nor  sufficiently  skillful  to  per- 
form the  ingenious  operations  by  wdiich  those  precious  metals  are 
separated  from  their  respective  ores.  They  were  satisfied  with  the 
more  simple  method,  practiced  by  the  Indians,  of  washing  the  earth 

carried  down  rivers  and  torrents  from    ,- —  — — ~~ — — 

the  mountains,  and  collecting  the  j 
grains  of  native  metal  deposited  there. 
The  rich  mines  of  New  Spain,  which 
have  poured  forth  their  treasures  with 
such  profusion  on  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  were  not  discovered  for  several 
years  after  the  conquest.  By  that  time 
[1552,  etc.],  a  more  orderly  government 
and  police  were  introduced  into  the 
colony ;  experience,  derived  from  for- 
mer errors,  had  suggested  many  useful 
and  humane  regulations  for  the  pro- 
tection and  preservation  of  the  Indians ; 
and  though  it  then  became  necessary 
to  increase  the  number  of  those  em- 
ployed in  the  mines,  and  they  were  en- 
gaged in  a  species  of  labor   more  per- 


STATUE    OF    GUATEMOTZIN,     MEXICO. 


584  THE    CONQUEST    OF   MEXICO. 

nicious  to  the  human  constitution,  they  suffered  less  hardship  or 
diminution  than  from  the  ill-judged,  but  less  extensive,  schemes 
of  the  first  conquerors. 

While  it  was  the  lot  of  the  Indians  to  suffer,  their  new  masters 
seemed  not  to  have  derived  any  considerable  wealth  from  their  ill- 
conducted  researches.  According  to  the  usual  fate  of  first  settlers 
in  new  colonies,  it  was  their  lot  to  encounter  danger  and  to  strug- 
gle with  difficulties  ;  the  fruits  of  their  victories  and  toils  were  re- 
served for  times  of  tranquillity,  and  reaped  by  successors  of  greater 
industry,  but  of  inferior  merit.  The  early  historians '  of  America 
abound  with  accounts  of  the  sufferings  and  of  the  poverty  of  its 
conquerors.  In  New  Spain,  their  condition  was  rendered  more 
grievous  by  a  peculiar  arrangement.  When  Charles  V.  advanced 
Cortes  to  the  government  of  that  country,  he,  at  the  same  time, 
appointed  certain  commissioners  to  receive  and  administer  the 
royal  revenue  there,  with  independent  jurisdiction.  These  men, 
chosen  from  inferior  stations  in  various  departments  of  public  busi- 
ness at  Madrid,  were  so  much  elevated  with  their  promotion,  that 
they  thought  the}-  were  called  to  act  a  part  of  the  first  consequence. 
But,  being  accustomed  to  the  minute  formalities  of  office,  and  hav- 
ing contracted  the  narrow  ideas  suited  to  the  sphere  in  which  they 
had  hitherto  moved,  they  were  astonished,  on  arriving  in  Mexico 
[1524],  at  the  high  authority  which  Cortes  exercised,  and  could  not 
conceive  that  the  mode  of  administration,  in  a  country  recently 
subdued  and  settled,  must  be  different  from  what  took  place  in  one 
where  tranquillity  and  regular  government  had  been  long  estab- 
lished. In  their  letters,  they  represented  Cortes  as  an  ambitious 
tyrant,  who,  having  usurped  a  jurisdiction  superior  to  law,  aspired 
at  independence,  and,  by  his.  exorbitant  wealth  and  extensive  influ- 
ence, might  accomplish  those  disloyal  schemes  which  he  apparently 
meditated.  These  insinuations  made  such  deep  impression  upon 
the  Spanish  ministers,  most  of  whom  had  been  formed  to  business 
under  the  jealous  and  rigid  administration  of  Ferdinand,  that,  un- 
mindful of  all  Cortes'  past  services,  and  regardless  of  what  he  was 
then  suffering  in  conducting  that  extraordinary  expedition,  in  which 
he  advanced  from  the  Lake  of  Mexico  to  the  western  extremity 
of  Honduras,  they  infused  the  same  suspicions  into  the  mind  of 
their  master,  and  prevailed  on  him  to  order  a  solemn  inquest  to  be 
made  into  his  conduct  [1525],  with  powers  to  the  licentiate  Ponce 


THE   CONQUEST    OI;    MEXICO. 


585 


de  Leon,  intrusted  with  that  commission,  to  seize  his  person,  if  he 
should  find  that  expedient,  and  send  him  prisoner  to  Spain. 

The  sudden  death  of  Ponee  de  Leon,  a  few  days  after  his  ar- 
rival in  New  Spain,  prevented  the  execution  of  this  commission. 
But  as  the  object  of  his  appointment  was  known,  the  mind  of  Cor- 
tes was  deeply  wounded  with  his  unexpected  return  for  services 
which  far  exceeded  whatever  any  subject  of  Spain  had  rendered  to 
his  sovereign.  He  endeavored,  however,  to  maintain  his  station, 
and  to  recover  the  con- 
fidence of  the  court. 
But  every  person  in 
office,  who  had  arrived 
from  Spain  since  the 
conquest,  was  a  spy 
upon  his  conduct,  and 
with  malicious  ingen- 
uity gave  an  unfavora- 
ble representation  of 
all  his  actions.  The  ap- 
prehensions of  Charles 
and  his  ministers  in- 
creased. A  new  com- 
mission of  inquiry  was 
issued  [152S],  with 
more  extensive 
powers,  and  various 
precautions  were  taken 
in  order  to  prevent  or 
to  punish  him,  if  he 
should  be  so  presump- 
tuous as  to  attempt  what  was  inconsistent  with  the  fidelity  of 
a  subject.  Cortes  beheld  the  approaching  crisis  of  his  fortune 
with  all  the  violent  emotions  natural  to  a  haughty  mind,  conscious 
of  high  desert,  and  receiving  unworthy  treatment.  But  though 
some  of  his  desperate  followers  urged  him  to  assert  his  own  rights 
against  his  ungrateful  country,  and,  with  a  bold  hand,  to  seize  that 
power  which  the  courtiers  meanly  accused  him  of  coveting,,  he  re- 
tained such  self-command,  or  was  actuated  with  such  sentiments 
of  loyalty,  as  to  reject  their  dangerous  counsels,  and  to  choose  the 


ABJECT    HOMAGE    PAID    TO    CORTES     BY    THE    MEXICAN     MAGISTRATES.     UPON    HIS    SUDDEN     RETURN     FROM    THE 
EXPEDITION    TO    HONDURAS. 


586 


THR    CONQUEST    OK    MEXICO. 


only  course  in  which  he  could  secure  his  own  dignity,  without  de- 
parting from  his  duty.  He  resolved  not  to  expose  himself  to  the 
ignominy  of  a  trial,  in  that  country  which  had  been  the  scene  of 
his  triumphs ;  but,  without  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  his  judges,  to 
repair  directly  to  Castile,  and  commit  himself  and  his  cause  to  the 
justice  and  generosity  of  his  sovereign. 

Cortes  appeared  in  his  native  country  with  the  splendor  that 
suited  the  conqueror  of  a  mighty  kingdom.  He  brought  with  him 
a  great   part  of   his  wealth,  many  jewels  and  ornaments  of  great 

value,  several  curious  pro- 
ductions of  the  country, 
and  was  attended  by  some 
Mexicans  of  the  first  rank, 
as  well  as  by  the  most 
considerable  of  his  own 
officers.  H  i  s  arrival  in 
Spain  removed  at  once 
every  suspicion  and  fear 
that  had  been  entertained 
with  respect  to  his  inten- 
tions. The  emperor,  hav- 
ing now  nothing  to  ap- 
prehend from  the  designs 
of  Cortes,  received  him 
like  a  person  whom  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  in- 
nocence had  brought  into 
the  presence  of  his  master, 
and  who  was  entitled,  by 
the  eminence  of  his  serv- 
ices, to  the  highest  marks 
of  distinction  and  respect. 
The  order  of  St.  Jago,  the 
title  of  Marquis  del  Valle 
de  Guaxaca,  the  grant  of 
an  ample  territory  in  New 
Spain,  were  successively 
bestowed  upon  him ;  and  as 
his   manners  were  correct 


ENTRY    OF    CORTES    INTO   TOLEOO,    SURROUNDED    WITH    THE    POMP    AND   SPLENDOR    SUITED   THE    CONQUEROR 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


587 


COAT   OF   ARMS   GRANTED   CORTES    BY   CHARLES   V 

MOTTO!      "THE   JUDGMENT   OF   GOD    REACHEO   THEM, 

AND   HIS  COURAGE  HAS  STRENGTHENED 

MY    ARM." 


and  elegant,  although  he  had  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
among  rough  adventurers,  the  emperor  admitted  him  to  the  same 
familiar  intercourse  with  himself,  that  was  enjoyed 
by  noblemen  of  the  first  rank. 

But,  amidst  those  external  proofs  of  regard, 
symptoms  of  remaining  distrust  appeared.  Though 
Cortes  earnestly  solicited  to  be  reinstated  in  the 
government  of  New  Spain,  Charles,  too  sagacious 
to  commit  such  an  important  charge  to  a  man  whom 
he  had  once  suspected,  peremptorily  refused  to  in- 
vest him  again  with  powers  which  he  might  find 
it  impossible  to  control.  Cortes,  though  dignified 
with  new  titles,  returned  to  Mexico  [1530],  with 
diminished  authority.  The  military  department, 
with  powers  to  attempt  new  discoveries,  was  left 
in  his  hands;  but  the  supreme  direction  of  civil 
affairs  was  placed  in  a  board  called  'The  Audience 
of  New  Spain.'  At  a  subsequent  period,  when,  upon 
the  increase  of  the  colony,  the  exertion  of  authority  more  united 
and  extensive  became  necessary,  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  a  nobleman 
of  high  rank,  was  sent  hither  as  Viceroy,  to  take  the  government 
into  his  hands. 

This  division  of  power  in  New  Spain  proved,  as  was  unavoid- 
able, the  source  of  perpetual  dissension,  which  embittered  the  life 
of  Cortes,  and  thwarted  all  his  schemes.  As  he  had  now  no  op- 
portunity to  display  his  active  talents  but  in  attempting  new  dis- 
coveries, he  formed  various  schemes  for  that  purpose,  all  of  which 
bear  impressions  of  a  genius  that  delighted  in  what  was  bold  and 
splendid.  He  early  entertained  an  idea,  that,  either  by  steering 
through  the  Gulf  of  Florida  along  the  east  coast  of  North  America, 
some  strait  would  be  found  that  communicated  with  the  western 
ocean ;  or  that,  by  examining  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  some  passage 
would  be  discovered  between  the  North  and  South  Seas.  But  hav- 
ing been  disappointed  in  his  expectations  with  respect  to  both,  he 
now  confined  his  views  to  such  voyages  of  discovery  as  he  could 
make  from  the  ports  of  New  Spain  to  the  South  Sea.  There  he 
fitted  out  successively  several  small  squadrons,  which  either  per- 
ished in  the  attempt,  or  returned  without  making  any  discovery 
of  moment.     Cortes,  weary  of  intrusting  the  conduct  of  his  opera- 


58S 


THE    CONQUEST    OF  "MEXICO 


tions  to  others,  took  the  command  of  a  new  armament  in  person 
[1536];  and,  after  enduring  incredible  hardships,  and  encounter- 
ing dangers  of  every  species,  he  discovered  the  large  peninsula  of 
California,  and  surveyed  the  greater  part  of  the  gulf  which  sepa- 
rates it  from  New  Spain.  The  discovery  of  a  country  of  such  ex- 
tent would  have  reflected  credit  on  a  common  adventurer;  but  it 
could  add  little  new  honor  to  the  name  of  Cortes,  and  was  far  from 

satisfying  the  san- 
guine expectations 
which  he  had  formed. 
Disgusted  with  ill 
success,  to  which  he 
had  not  been  accus- 
tomed, and  weary  of 
contesting  with  adver- 
saries  to  whom  he 
considered  it  as  a  dis- 

iA222  ill      IJl^r^l    face  to  be  °pp°sf' 

he  once  more  sought 
for  redress  in  his  na- 
tive country  [1540]. 

But  his  reception 
there  was  very  differ- 
ent from  that  which 
gratitude,  and  even 
decency,  ought  to 
have  secured  for  him. 
The  merit  of  his  an- 
cient exploits  was  al- 
ready,  in  a  great 
measure,  forgotten  or  eclipsed  by  the  fame  of  recent  and  more  valu- 
able conquests  in  another  quarter  of  America.  No  service  of  moment 
was  now  expected  from  a  man  of  declining  years,  and  who  began  to 
be  unfortunate.  The  emperor  behaved  to  him  with  cold  civility;  his 
ministers  treated  him  sometimes  with  neglect,  sometimes  with  in- 
solence. His  grievances  received  no  redress ;  his  claims  were  urged 
without  effect ;  and  after  several  years  spent  in  fruitless  application 
to  ministers  and  judges,  an  occupation  the  most  irksome  and  mor- 
tifying to  a  man  of  high  spirit,  who  had  moved  in  a  sphere  where 


CASTLE    OF    CUESTA,   IN    SEVILLE,   WHERE    CORTES    DIED. 


THE   CONQUEST   OK   MEXICO. 


589 


he  was  more  accustomed  to  command  than  solicit,  Cortes  ended  his 
days  on  the  2d  of  December,  1547,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his 
age. 

His  funeral  obsequies  were  celebrated  with  due  solemnity  by 
a  long  train  of  Andalusian  nobles,  and  of  the  citizens  of  Seville, 
and  his  body  was  transported  to  the  chapel  of  the  monastery,  San 
Isidro,  in  that  city,  where  it  was  laid  in  the  family  vault  of  the 
Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia.  In  the  year  1562,  it  was  removed,  by 
order  of  his  son,  Don  Martin  (natural  son  of  Doiia  Marina),  to 
New  Spain,  not,  as  directed  by  his  will,  to  Cojohuacan,  but  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  Francis,  in  Tezcuco,  where  it  was  laid  by  the 
side  of  a  daughter,  and  of  his  mother,  Doiia  Catalina  Pizarro.  In 
1629,  the  remains  of  Cortes  were  again  removed;  and  on  the  death 
of  Dou  Pedro,  fourth  marquess  of  the  Valley,  it  was  decided  by 
the  authorities  of  Mexico  to  transfer  them  to  the  church  of  St. 
Francis,  in  that  capital. 

Yet  his  bones  were  not  permitted  to  rest  here  undisturbed; 
and  in  1794  they  were  removed  to  the  Hospital  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. It  was  a  more  fitting  place,  since  it  was  the  same  institution, 
which,  under  the  name  of  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Conception,"  had 
been  founded  and  endowed  by  Cortes,  and  which,  with  a  fate  not 
too  frequent  in  similar  charities,  has  been  administered  to  this 
day  on  the  noble  principles  of  its  foundation.  The  mouldering 
relics  of  the  warrior,  now  deposited  in  a  crystal  coffin  secured  by 
bars  and  plates  of  silver,  were  laid  in  the  chapel,  and  over  them 
was  raised  a  simple  monument,  displaying  the  arms  of  the  family, 
and  surmounted  by  a  bust  of  the  Conqueror,  executed  in  bronze 
by  Tolsa,  a  sculptor  worthy  of  the  best  period  of  the  arts. 

Unfortunately  for  Mexico,  the  tale  does  not  stop  here. 
In  1S23,  the  patriot  mob  of  the  capital,  in  their  zeal  to  com- 
memorate the  era  of  the  national  independence,  and  their 
detestation  of  the  "  old  Spaniards,"  prepared  to  break  open 
the  tomb  which  held  the  ashes  of  Cortes,  and  to  scatter  them 
to  the  winds !  The  authorities  declined  to  interfere  on  the 
occasion;  but  the  friends  of  the  family,  as  is  commonly  re- 
ported, entered  the  vault  by  night,  and,  secretly  removing  the 
relics,  prevented  the  commission  of  a  sacrilege,  which  must 
have  left  a  stain,  not  easy  to  be  effaced,  on  the  scutcheon  of 
the  fair  city  of  Mexico. 


33 


MONUMENT    ERECTED   TO   CORTES 

in    THE    HOSPITAL   OF 

JESUS,    MEXICO. 


59° 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


The  fate  of  Cortes  was  the  same  with  that  of  all  the  persons 
who  distinguished  themselves  in  the  discovery  or  conquests  of  the 
New  World.  Envied  by  his  contemporaries,  and  ill  requited  by  the 
court  which  he  served,  he  has  been  admired  and  celebrated  by  suc- 
ceeding ages.  Which  has  formed  the  most  just  estimate  of  his 
character,  an  impartial  consideration  of  his  actions  must  de- 
termine. 


ED    TO    THE    TEMALACATL    FIGHTING    A    GLADIATOR,     BOTH 
ARMED   WITH    SERRATED  iimi  SWORDS. 


Book  III 


(591) 


(S9»» 


CHAPTER   LXIV. 


SETTLEMENTS    ON    THE    ISTHMUS  OF    DARIEN    BY  OJEDA  AND    NICUESA.      ELECTION    OF    VASCO 

NUNEZ   DE    BALBOA.      BALBOA    DISCOVERS  THE  SOUTH   SEA.     RECEIVES    INFORMATION 

CONCERNING    A    MORE    OPULENT    COUNTRY.      DISSENSIONS     BETWEEN 

PEDRARIAS  AND   BALBOA   END    IN   THE    PUBLIC   EXECUTION    OF 

A    MAN    UNIVERSALLY    BELOVED. 


ssffS^THOUGH   it  was  about  ten   years  since 

^   Columbus  had  discovered  the  main  land 

\Q?  of  America,  the  Spaniards  had  hitherto 

y$T^^^^^^    fyffi&^§M  made  no   settlement   in  any  part  of  it. 

What  had  been  so  long  neglected  was 

)^-//'<jft^'\W^       ^TiV)l'    now    seri°usly    attempted,     and    with 

(3/    ]»nv^^    j^Q^  &/      considerable  vigor.     This  scheme  took 

its  rise  from  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  who  had 
already  made  two*  voyages  as  a  dis- 
coverer, by  which  he  acquired  consider- 
able reputation,  but  no  wealth.  But 
his  character  for  intrepidity  and  con- 
duct easily  procured  him  associates, 
who  advanced  the  money  requisite  to 
defray  the  charges  of  the  expedition.  About 
the  same  time,  Diego  de  Nicuesa,  who  had  ac- 
quired a  large  fortune  in  Hispaniola,  formed  a 
similar  design.  Ferdinand  encouraged  both  ;  and  though  he  re- 
fused to  advance  the  smallest  sum,  was  extremely  liberal  of  titles 


(595) 


596  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

and  patents.  He  erected  two  governments  on  the  continent,  one 
extending  from  Cape  de  Vela  to  the  gulf  of  Darien,  and  the 
other  from  that  to  Cape  Gracias  a  Dios.  The  former  was  given 
to  Ojeda,  the  latter  to  Nicuesa.  Ojeda  fitted  out  a  ship  and 
two  brigantines,  with  three  hundred  men;  Nicuesa,  six  vessels, 
with  seven  hundred  and  eighty  men.  They  sailed  about  the 
same  time  from  St.  Domingo  for  their  respective  governments.  In 
order  to  give  their  title  to  those  countries  some  appearance  of  va- 
lidity, several  of  the  most  eminent  divines  and  lawyers  in  Spain, 
were  employed  to  prescribe  the  mode  in  which  they  should  take 
possession  of  them.  They  instructed  those  invaders,  as  soon 
as  they  landed  on  the  continent,  to  declare  to  the  natives  the 
principal  articles  of  the  Christian  faith  ;  to  acquaint  them,  in  par- 
ticular, with  the  supreme  jurisdiction  of  the  pope  over  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth  ;  to  inform  them  of  the  grant  which  this  holy 
pontiff  had  made  of  their  country  to  the  king  of  Spain  ;  to  require 
them  to  embrace  the  doctrines  of  that  religion  which  the  Spaniards 
made  known  to  them ;  and  to  submit  to  the  sovereign  whose  au- 
thority the)'  proclaimed.  If  the  natives  refused  to  comply  with 
this  requisition,  then  Ojeda  and  Nicuesa  were  authorized  to  attack 
them  with  fire  and  sword  ;  to  reduce  them,  their  wives  and  children, 
to  a  state  of  servitude ;  and  to  compel  them  by  force  to  recognize 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  church,  and  the  authority  of  the  monarch,  to 
which  they  would  not  voluntarily  subject  themselves. 

As  the  inhabitants  of  the  continent  could  not  at  once  yield  as- 
sent to  doctrines  too  refined  for  their  uncultivated  understand- 
ings, and  explained  to  them  by  interpreters  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  their  language ;  as  they  did  not  conceive  how  a  foreign  priest, 
of  whom  they  had  rj^ver  heard,  could  have  any  right  to  dispose  of 
their  country,  or  how  an  unknown  prince  should  claim  jurisdiction 
over  them  as  his  subjects,  they  fiercely  opposed  the  new  invaders 
of  their  territories.  Ojeda  and  Nicuesa  endeavored  to  effect  by 
force  what  they  could  not  accomplish  by  persuasion.  But  they 
found  these  natives  to  be  of  a  character  very  different  from  that 
of  their  countrymen  in  the  islands.  They  were  fierce  and  warlike. 
Their  arrows  were  dipped  in  a  poison  so  noxious,  that  every  wound 
was  followed  with  certain  death.  In  one  encounter  they  slew  above 
seventy  of  Ojeda's  followers,  and  the  Spaniards,  for  the  first  time, 
were  taught  to  dread  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  World.     Nothing 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  597 

could  soften  their  ferocity.  They  refused  to  hold  any  intercourse, 
or  to  exchange  any  friendly  office,  with  men  whose  residence  among 
them  they  considered  as  fatal  to  their  liberty  and  independence. 
This  implacable  enmity  of  the  natives,  though  it  rendered  an  at- 
tempt to  establish  a  settlement  in  their  country  extremely  difficult 
as  well  as  dangerous,  might  have  been  surmounted  at  length  by 
the  perseverance  of  the  Spaniards,  by  the  superiority  of  their  arms, 
and  their  skill  in  the  art  of  war.  But  every  disaster  which  can  be 
accumulated  upon  the  unfortunate,  combined  to  complete  their 
ruin.  Though  they  received  two  considerable  reinforcements  from 
Hispaniola,  the  greater  part  of  those  who  had  engaged  in  this  un- 
happy expedition  perished,  in  less  than  a  year,  in  the  most  extreme 
misery.  A  few  who  survived,  settled  as  a  feeble  colony  at  Santa 
Maria  el  Antigua,  on  the  gulf  of  Darien,  under  the  command  of 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  who,  in  the  most  desperate  exigencies,  dis- 
played such  courage  and  conduct,  as  first  gained  the  confidence  of 
his  countrymen,  and  marked  him  out  as  their  leader  in  more  splen- 
did and  successful  undertakings. 

Having  been  raised  to  the  government  of  the  small  colony  at 
Santa  Maria  in  Darien,  by  the  voluntary  suffrage  of  his  associates, 
he  was  so  extremely  desirous  to  obtain  from  the  crown  a  confirma- 
tion of  their  election,  that  he  despatched  one  of  his  officers  to 
Spain,  in  order  to  solicit  a  royal  commission,  which  might  invest 
him  with  a  legal  title  to  the  supreme  command.  Conscious,  how- 
ever, that  he  could  not  expect  success  from  the  patronage  of  Ferdi- 
nand's ministers,  with  whom  he  was  unconnected,  or  from  negoti- 
ating in  a  court  to  the  arts  of  which  he  was  a  stranger,  he  endeav- 
ored to  merit  the  dignity  to  which  he  aspired,  and  aimed  at  per- 
forming some  signal  service  that  would  secure  him  the  preference 
to  every  competitor.  Full  of  this  idea  he  made  frequent  inroads 
into  the  adjacent  country,  subdued  several  of  the  caciques,  and 
collected  a  considerable  quantity  of  gold,  which  abounded  more  in 
that  part  of  the  continent,  than  in  the  islands.  In  one  of  those 
excursions,  the  Spaniards  contended  with  such  eagerness  about 
the  division  of  some  gold,  that  they  were  at  the  point  of  proceed- 
ing to  acts  of  violence  against  one  another.  A  young  cacique  who 
was  present,  astonished  at  the  high  value  which  they  set  upon  a 
thing  of  which  he  did  not  discern  the  use,  tumbled  the  gold  out 
of  the  balance  with  indignation  ;  and,   turning  to  the   Spaniards, 


59§  THE    CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

"  Why  do  you  quarrel  (said  he)  about  such  a  trifle  ?  If  you  are  so 
passionately  fond  of  gold,  as  to  abandon  your  own  country,  and  to 
disturb  the  tranquillity  of  distant  nations  for  its  sake,  I  will  con- 
duct you  to  a  region  where  the  metal  which  seems  to  be  the  chief 
object  of  your  admiration  and  desire,  is  so  common  that  the  mean- 
est utensils  are  formed  of  it."  Transported  with  what  they  heard, 
Balboa  and  his  companions  inquired  eagerly  where  this  happy 
country  lay,  and  how  they  might  arrive  at  it.  He  informed  them 
that  at  the  distance  of  six  suns,  that  is,  of  six  days'  journey,  towards 
the  south,  they  should  discover  another  ocean,  near  to  which  this 
wealthy  kingdom  was  situated ;  but  if  they  intended  to  attack  that 
powerful  state,  they  must  assemble  forces  far  superior  in  number 
and  strength  to  those  with  which  they  now  appeared. 

This  was  the  first  information  which  the  Spaniards  received 
concerning  the  great  southern  ocean,  or  the  opulent  and  extensive 
country  known  afterwards  by  the  name  of  Peru.  Balboa  had  now 
before  him  objects  suited  to  his  boundless  ambition,  and  the  enter- 
prising ardor  of  his  genius.  He  immediately  concluded  the  ocean 
which  the  cacique  mentioned,  to  be  that  for  which  Columbus  had 
searched  without  success  in  this  part  of  America,  in  hopes  of  open- 
ing a  more  direct  communication  with  the  East  Indies.  He  was 
impatient  until  he  could  set  out  upon  this  enterprise,  in  compari- 
son of  which  all  his  former  exploits  appeared  inconsiderable.  But 
previous  arrangement  and  preparation  were  requisite  to  ensure 
success.  He  began  with  courting  and  securing  the  friendship  of 
the  neighboring  caciques.  He  sent  some  of  his  officers  to  Hispani- 
ola  with  a  large  quantity  of  gold,  as  a  proof  of  his  past  success, 
and  an  earnest  of  his  future  hopes.  By  a  proper  distribution  of 
this,  they  secured  the  favor  of  the  governor,  and  allured  volunteers 
into  the  service.  A  considerable  reinforcement  from  that  island 
joined  him,  and  he  thought  himself  in  a  condition  to  attempt  the 
discovery. 

The  isthmus  of  Darien  is  not  above  sixty  miles  in  breadth ; 
but  this  neck  of  land  which  binds  together  the  continents  of  North 
and  South  America,  is  strengthened  by  a  chain  of  lofty  mountains 
stretching  through  its  whole  extent,  which  render  it  a  barrier  of 
solidity  sufficient  to  resist  the  impulse  of  two  opposite  oceans. 
The  mountains  are  covered  with  forests  almost  inaccessible.  The 
valleys  in  that  moist  climate,  where  it  rains  during  two-thirds  of 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


.599 


the  year,  are  marshy,  and  so  frequently  overflowed  that  the  inhab- 
itants find  it  necessary,  in  many  places,  to  build  their  houses  upon 
trees,  in  order  to  be  elevated  at  some  distance  from  the  damp  soil,  and 
the  odious  reptiles  inhabiting  the  murky  and  putrid  waters.  Large 
rivers  rush  down  with  an  impetuous  current  from  the  high  grounds. 
In  a  region  thinly  inhabited  by  wandering  savages,  the  hand  of  in- 
dustry had  done  nothing 
to  mitigate  or  correct  those 
natural  disadvantages.  To 
march  across  this  unex- 
plored country  with  no 
other  guides  but  Indians, 
whose  fidelity  could  be 
little  trusted,  was,  on  all 
those  accounts,  the  boldest 
enterprise  on  which  the 
Spaniards  had  hitherto 
ventured  in  the  New 
World.  But  the  intrepidi- 
ty of  Balboa  was  such  as 
distinguished  him  among 
his  countrymen,  at  a  period 
when  every  adventurer 
was  conspicuous  for  daring 
courage  [1513].  Nor  was 
bravery  his  only  merit ;  he 
was  prudent  in  conduct, 
generous,  affable,  and  pos- 
sessed of  those  popular 
talents  which,  in  the  most 
desperate  undertakings, 
inspire  confidence  and  se- 
c  u  r  e  attachment.  Even 
after  the  junction  of  the  volunteers  from  Hispaniola,  he  was  able 
to  muster  only  a  hundred  and  ninety  men  for  his  expedition. 
But  they  were  hardy  veterans,  inured  to  the  climate  of  America, 
and  ready  to  follow  him  through  every  danger.  A  thousand  In- 
dians attended  them  to  carry  their  provisions  ;  and,  to  complete 
their  warlike  array,  they  took  with  them  several  of   those  fierce 


BOA-CONSTRICTOR    FISHING. 


600  THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 

dogs,  which  were  no  less  formidable  than  destructive  to  their  naked 
enemies. 

Balboa  set  out  upon  this  important  expedition  on  the  first  of 
September,  about  the  time  that  the  periodical  rains  began  to  abate. 
He  proceeded  by  sea,  and  without  any  difficulty,  to  the  territories 
of  a  cacique  whose  friendship  he  had  gained ;  but  no  sooner  did  he 
begin  to  advance  into  the  interior  part  of  the  country,  than  he  was 
retarded  by  every  obstacle,  which  he  had  reason  to  apprehend,  from 
the  nature  of  the  territory,  or  the  disposition  of  its  inhabitants. 
Some  of  the  caciques,  at  his  approach,  fled  to  the  mountains  with 
all  their  people,  and  carried  off  or  destroyed  whatever  could  afford 
subsistence  to  his  troops.  Others  collected  their  subjects,  in  order 
to  oppose  his  progress  ;  and  he  quickly  perceived  what  an  arduous 
undertaking  it  was  to  conduct  such  a  body  of  men  through  hostile 
nations,  across  swamps,  and  rivers,  and  woods,  which  had  never 
been  passed  but  by  straggling  Indians.  But  by  sharing  in  every 
hardship  with  the  meanest  soldier,  by  appearing  the  foremost  to 
meet  every  danger,  by  promising  confidently  to  his  troops  the  en- 
joyment of  honor  and  riches  superior  to  what  had  been  attained  by 
the  most  successful  of  their  countrymen,  he  inspired  them  with 
such  enthusiastic  resolution,  that  they  followed  him  without  mur- 
muring. When  thejr  had  penetrated  a  good  way  into  the  mount- 
ains, a  powerful  cacique  appeared  in  a  narrow  pass,  with  a  numer- 
ous body  of  his  subjects,  to  obstruct  their  progress.  But  men  who 
had  surmounted  so  many  obstacles,  despised  the  opposition  of  such 
feeble  enemies.  Thejr  attacked  them  with  impetuosity,  and,  having 
dispersed  them  with  much  ease  and  great  slaughter,  continued  their 
march.  Though  their  guides  had  represented  the  breadth  of  the 
isthmus  to  be  only  a  journey  of  six  days,  they  had  already  spent 
twenty-five  in  forcing  their  way  through  the  woods  and  mountains. 
Many  of  them  were  ready  to  sink  under  such  uninterrupted  fatigue 
in  that  sultry  climate,  several  were  taken  ill  of  the  dysentery  and 
other  diseases  frequent  in  that  country,  and  all  became  impatient 
to  reach  the  period  of  their  labors  and  sufferings.  At  length'  the 
Indians  assured  them,  that  from  the  top  of  the  next  mountain  they 
should  discover  the  ocean  which  was  the  object  of  their  wishes. 
When,  with  infinite  toil,  they  had  climbed  up  the  greater  part  of 
that  steep  ascent,  Balboa  commanded  his  men  to  halt,  and  advanced 
alone  to  the  summit,  that  he  might  be  the  first  who  should  enjoy  a 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


60 1 


spectacle  which  he  had  so  long  desired.  As  soon  as  he  beheld  the 
South  Sea  stretching  in  endless  prospect  below  him,  he  fell  on  his 
knees,  and,  lifting  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  returned  thanks  to  God, 
who  had  conducted  him  to  a  discovery  so  beneficial  to  his  country, 
and  so  honorable  to  himself.  His  followers,  observing  his  transports 
of  joy,  rushed  forward  to  join  in  his  wonder,  exultation,  and  grati- 
tude. They  held  on  their  course  to  the  shore  with  great  alacrity, 
when  Balboa,  advancing  up  to  the  middle  in  the  waves  with  his 
buckler  and  sword,  took  pos- 
session of  that  ocean  in  the 
name  of  the  king  his  mas- 
ter, and  vowed  to  defend  it, 
with  these  arms,  against  all 
his  enemies. 

That  part  of  the  great 
Pacific  or  Southern  Ocean, 
which  Balboa  first  discov- 
ered, still  retains  the  name 
of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael, 
which  he  gave  to  it,  and  is 
situated  to  the  east  of  Pana- 
ma. From  several  of  the 
petty  princes,  who  governed 
in  the  districts  adjacent  to 
that  gulf,  he  extorted  pro- 
visions and  gold  by  force  of 
arms.  Others  sent  them  to 
him  voluntarily.  To  these 
acceptable  presents  some  of 
the  caciques  added  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  pearls ; 
and  he  learned  from  them, 
with  much  satisfaction,  that 
pearl  oysters  abounded  in 
the  sea  which  he  had  newly 
discovered. 

Together  with  the  ac- 
q'uisition  of  this  wealth, 
which  served  to  soothe   and 


6AL8UA,    ARMED    WITH    SWORD    AND    BUCKLER,    WAIST    DEEP    IN     THE    WATERS    OF    THE    PACIFIC    OCEAN,    CLAIMS 

THIS    UNKNOWN    SEA,   WITH    ALL    THAT    IT    CONTAINS,   FOR    THE    KING    OF    CASTILE,    AND    THAT 

"HE  WOULD    MAKE   GOOD   THE   CLAIM    AGAINST    ALL   CHRISTIANS   OR 

INFIDELS,    WHO    DARED   TO    GAINSAV    IT." 


602 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


encourage  his  followers,  he  received  accounts  which  confirmed 
his  sanguine  hopes  of  future  and  more  extensive  benefits  from 
the  expedition.  All  the  people  on  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea 
concurred  in  informing  him  that  there  was  a  mighty  and  opulent 
kinsfdoin  situated  at  a  considerable  distance  towards  the  south-east, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  had  tame  animals  to  carry  their  burdens. 
In  order  to  givo  the  Spaniards  an  idea  of  these,  they  drew  upon  the 
sand  the  figure  of  the  llama  or  sheep,  afterwards  found  in  Peru, 
which  the  Peruvians  had  taught  to  perform  such  services  as  they 
described.  As  the  llama,  in  its  form,  nearly  resembles  a  camel,  a 
beast  of  burden  deemed  peculiar  to  Asia,  this  circumstance,  in  con- 
junction with  the  discovery  of  the  pearls,  another  noted  production 
of  that  country,  tended  to  confirm  the  Spaniards  in  their  mistaken 

theory  with  respect  to  the  vicinity  of  the  New 
World  to  the  East  Indies. 

But  though  the  information  which  Balboa 
received  from  the  people  on  the  coast,  as  well 
as  his  own  conjectures  and  hopes,  rendered 
him  extremely  impatient  to  visit  this  unknown 
country,  his  prudence  restrained  him  from  at- 
tempting to  invade  it  with  a  handful  of  men 
exhausted  by  fatigue  and  weakened  by  diseases. 
He  determined  to  lead  back  his  followers,  at 
present,  to  their  settlement  of  Santa  Maria  in 
Darien,  and  to  return  next  season  with  a  force 
more  adequate  to  such  an  arduous  enterprise. 
In  order  to  acquire  a  more  extensive  knowledge  of  the  isthmus,  he 
marched  back  by  a  different  route,  which  he  found  to  be  no  less 
dangerous  and  difficult  than  that  which  he  had  formerly  taken.  But 
to  men  elated  with  success,  and  animated  with  hope,  nothing  is  in- 
surmountable. Balboa  returned  to  Santa  Maria  [15 14],  from  which 
he  had  been  absent  four  months,  with  greater  glory  and  more 
treasure  than  the  Spaniards  had  acquired  in  any  expedition  in  the 
New  World.  None  of  Balboa's  officers  distinguished  themselves 
more  in  Jdiis  service  than  Francisco  Pizarro,  or  assisted  with  greater 
courage  and  ardor  in  opening  a  communication  with  those  coun- 
tries in  which  he  was  destined  to  act  soon  a  more  illustrious  part. 
Balboa's  first  care  was  to  send  information  to  Spain  of  the 
important   discovery  which   he   had   made;  and  to  demand  a  rein- 


LLAMA      OR    PE3UVI 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


603 


forcement  of  a  thousand  men,  in  order  to  attempt  the  conquest  of 
that  opulent  country,  concerning  which  he  had  received  such  invit- 
ing intelligence.  The  first  account  of  the  discovery  of  the  New 
World  hardly  occasioned  greater  joy,  than  the  unexpected  tidings 
that  a  passage  was  at  last  found  to  the  great  Southern  ocean.  The 
communication  with  the  East  Indies,  by  a  course  to  the  westward 
of  the  line  of  demarcation  drawn  by  the  Pope,  seemed  now  to  be 
certain.  The  vast  wealth  which  flowed  into  Portugal,  from  its 
settlements  and  conquests  in  that  country,  excited  the  envy  and 
called  forth  the  emulation  of  other  states.  Ferdinand  hoped  now 
to  come  in  for  a  share  in  this  lucrative  commerce,  and,  in  his  eager- 
ness to  obtain  it,  was  willing  to  make  an  effort  beyond  what  Bal- 
boa required.  But  even  in  this  exertion,  his  jealous  policy,  as  well 
as  the  fatal  antipathy  of  Fonseca,  now  Bishop  of  Burgos,  to  every 
man  of  merit  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  New  World,  was 
conspicuous.  Notwithstanding  Balboa's  recent  services,  which 
marked  him  out  as  the  most  proper  person  to  finish  that  great 
undertaking  which  he  had  begun,  Ferdinand  was  so  ungenerous  as 
to  overlook  these,  and  to  appoint  Pedrarias  Davila  governor  of 
Darien.  He  gave  him  the 
command  of  fifteen  stout 
vessels,  and  twelve  hundred 
soldiers.  These  were  fitted 
out  at  the  public  expense, 
with  a  liberality  which 
Ferdinand  had  never  dis- 
played in  any  former  arma- 
ment destined  for  the  New 
World ;  and  such  was  -the 
ardor  of  the  Spanish  gen- 
tlemen to  follow  a  leader 
who  was  about  to  conduct 
them  to  a  country,  where, 
as  fame  reported,  they  had 
only  to  throw  their  nets 
into  the  sea  and  draw  out 
gold,  that  fifteen  hundred 
embarked  on  board  the 
fleet    and,  if  they  had  not 


SOUTH    AMERICA    ACCORDING   TO   THE    GLOBUS    CONSTRUCTED    BY    J.    SCHOENER,  1516. 


604  THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 

been  restrained,  a  much  greater  number  would  have  engaged  in  the 
service. 

Pedrarias  reached  the  Gulf  of  Darien  without  any  remarkable 
accident,  and  immediately  sent  some  of  his  principal  officers  ashore 
to  inform  Balboa  of  his  arrival,  with  the  king's  commission  to  be 
governor  of  the  colon)-.  To  their  astonishment,  they  found  Bal- 
boa, of  whose  great  exploits  they  had  heard  so  much,  and  of  whose 
opulence  the}'  had  formed  such  high  ideas,  clad  in  a  canvas  jacket, 
and  wearing'coarse  hempen  sandals  used  only  by  the  meanest  peas- 
ants, employed,  together  with  some  Indians,  in  thatching  his  cwn 
hut  with  reeds.  Even  in  this  simple  garb,  which  corresponded  so 
ill  with  the  expectations  and  wishes  of  his  new  guests,  Balboa  re- 
ceived them  with  dignity.  The  fame  of  his  discoveries  had  drawn 
so  many  adventurers  from  the  islands,  that  he  could  now  muster 
four  hundred  and  fifty  men.  At  the  head  of  those  daring  veterans, 
he  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  forces  which  Pedrarias  brought 
with  him.  But,  though  his  troops  murmured  loudly  at  the  in- 
justice of  the  king  in  superseding  their  commander,  and  com- 
plained that  strangers  would  now  reap  the  fruits  of  their  toil  and 
success,  Balboa  submitted  with  implicit  obedience  to  the  will  of  his 
sovereign,  and  received  Pedrarias  with  all  the  deference  due  to  his 
character. 

Notwithstanding  this  moderation,  to  which  Pedrarias  owed  the 
peaceable  possession  of  his  government,  he  appointed  a  judicial  in- 
quiry to  be  made  into  Balboa's  conduct,  while  under  the  command  of 
Nicuesa,  and  imposed  a  considerable  fine  upon  him,  on  account  of 
the  irregularities  of  which  he  had  then  been  guilty.  Balboa  felt 
sensibly  the  mortification  of  being  subjected  to  trial  and  to  punish- 
ment in  a  place  where  he  had  so  lately  occupied  the  first  station. 
Pedrarias  could  not  conceal  his  jealous}-  of  his  superior  merit;  so 
that  the  resentment  of  the  one,  and  the  envy  of  the  other,  gave  rise 
to  dissensions  extremely  detrimental  to  the  colony.  It  was  threat- 
ened with  a  calamity  still  more  fatal.  Pedrarias  had  landed  in 
Darien  at  a  most  unlucky  time  of  the  year  [July],  about  the  middle 
of  the  rainy  season,  in  that  part  of  the  torrid  zone  where  the 
clouds  pour  down  such  torrents  as  are  unknown  in  more  temperate 
climates.  The  village  of  Santa  Maria  was  seated  in  a  rich  plain, 
environed  with  marshes  and  woods.  The  constitution  of  Euro- 
peans was  unable  to  withstand  the  pestilential  influence  of  such  a 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


605 


situation,  in  a  climate  naturally  so  noxious,  and  at  a  season  so 
peculiarly  unhealthy.  A  violent  and  destructive  malady  carried  off 
many  of  the  soldiers  who  accompanied  Pedrarias.  An  extreme 
scarcity  of  provisions  augmented  this  distress,  as  it  rendered  it  im- 
possible to  find  proper  refreshment  for  the  sick,  or  the  necessary 
sustenance  for  the  healthy.  In  the  space  of  a  month,  above  six 
hundred  persons  perished  in  the  utmost  misery.  Dejection  and 
despair  spread  through  the  colony.  Many  principal  persons  solic- 
ited their  dismission,  and  were  glad  to  relinquish  all  their  hopes  of 
wealth,  in  order  to  escape  from  that  perni- 
cious region.  Pedrarias  endeavored  to 
divert  those  who  remained  from  brooding 
over  their  misfortunes,  by  finding  them 
employment.  With  this  view,  he  sent 
several  detachments  into  the  interior  parts 
of  the  country,  to  levy  gold  among  the  na- 
tives, and  to  search  for  the  mines  in  which 
it  was  produced.  Those  rapacious  adven- 
turers, more  attentive  to  present  gain 
than  to  the  means  of  facilitating  their  fu- 
ture progress,  plundered  without  distinc- 
tion wherever  they  marched.  Regardless  of 
the  alliances  which  Balboa  had  made  with 
several  of  the  caciques,  they  stripped  them 
of  everything  valuable,  and  treated  them,  as 
well  as  their  subjects,  with  the  utmost  inso- 
lence and  cruelty.  By  their  tyranny  and  ex- 
actions, which  Pedrarias,  either  from  want 
of  authority  or  inclination,  did  not  restrain,  all  the  country  from 
the  Gulf  of  Darien  to  the  lake  of  Nicaragua  was  desolated,  and  the 
Spaniards  were  inconsiderately  deprived  of  the  advantages  which 
they  might  have  derived  from  the  friendship  of  the  natives,  in  ex- 
tending their  conquests  to  the  South  Sea.  Balboa,  who  saw  with 
concern  that  such  ill-judged  proceedings  retarded  the  execution  of 
his  favorite  scheme,  sent  violent  remonstrances  to  Spain  against 
the  imprudent  government  of  Pedrarias,  which  had  ruined  a  happy 
and  flourishing  colony.  Pedrarias,  on  the  other  hand,  accused  him 
of  having  deceived   the  king,  by  magnifying  his  own  exploits,  as 

well  as  by  a  false  representation  of  the  opulence  and  value  of  the 
country. 


■~-^-zi>3i^£^ti^rz_ — '  — 


PEDRARIAS*    RAIDING    EXPEDITIONS    AMONG   THE   CACIQUES   OF 
ISTH+1US    OP    DARIEW   (OR  PANAMA.) 


34 


606  '  THE   CONQUEST   OF  PERU. 

Ferdinand  became  sensible  at  length  of  his  imprudence  in  su- 
perseding the  most  active  and  experienced  officer  he  had  in  the 
New  World,  and,  by  way  of  compensation  to  Balboa,  appointed  him 
Adelantado,  or  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  countries  upon  the 
South  Sea,  with  very  extensive  privileges  and  authority.  At  the 
same  time,  he  enjoined  Pedrarias  to  support  Balboa  in  all  his  oper- 
ations, and  to  consult  with  him  concerning  every  measure  which 
he  himself  pursued  [1515].  But  to  effect  such  a  sudden  transition 
from  inveterate  enmity  to  perfect  confidence,  exceeded  Ferdinand's 
power.  Pedrarias  continued  to  treat  his  rival  with  neglect ;  and 
Balboa's  fortune  being  exhausted  by  the  payment  of  his  fine,  and 
other  exactions  of  Pedrarias,  he  could  not  make  suitable  prepara- 
tions for  taking  possession  of  his  new  government.  At  length,  by 
the  interposition  and  exhortations  of  the  Bishop  of  Darien,  they 
were  brought  to  a  reconciliation  ;  and,  in  order  to  cement  this  union 
more  firmly,  Pedrarias  agreed  to  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to 
Balboa  [15 16].  The  first  effect  of  their  concord  was,  that  Balboa 
was  permitted  to  make  several  small  incursions  into  the  country. 
These  he  conducted  with  such  prudence,  as  added  to  the  reputation 
which  he  had  already  acquired.  Many  adventurers  resorted  to 
him,  and,  with  the  countenance  and  aid  of  Pedrarias,  he  began  to 
prepare  for  his  expedition  to  the  South  Sea.  In  order  to  accom- 
plish this,  it  was  necessary  to  build  vessels  capable  of  conveying 
his  troops  to  those  provinces  which  he  proposed  to  invade  [1517]. 
After  surmounting  many  obstacles,  and  enduring  a  variety  of 
those  hardships  which  were  the  portion  of  the  conquerors  of 
America,  he  at  length  finished  four  small  brigantines.  In  these, 
with  three  hundred  chosen  men,  a  force  superior  to  that  with 
which  Pizarro  afterwards  undertook  the  same  expedition,  he  was 
ready  to  sail  towards  Peru,  when  he  received  an  unexpected  mes- 
sage from  Pedrarias.  As  his  reconciliation  with  Balboa  had  never 
been  cordial,  the  progress  which  his  son-in-law  was  making  re- 
vived his  ancient  enmity,  and  added  to  its  rancor.  He  dreaded  the 
prosperity  and  elevation  of  a  man  whom  he  had  injured  so  deeply. 
He  suspected  that  success  would  encourage  him  to  aim  at  inde- 
pendence upon  his  jurisdiction ;  and  so  violently  did  the  passion 
of  hatred,  fear,  and  jealousy  operate  upon  his  mind,  that,  in  order 
to  gratify  his  vengeance,  he  scrupled  not  to  defeat  an  enterprise  of 
the  greatest  moment  to  his  country.     Under  pretexts  which  were 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


607 


false,  but  plausible,  he  desired  Balboa  to  postpone  his  voyage  for  a 
short  time,  and  to  repair  to  Acla,  in  order  that  he  might  have  an 
interview  with  him.  Balboa,  with  the  unsuspicious  confidence  of  a 
man  conscious  of  no  crime,  instantly  obeyed  the  summons;  but  as 
soon  as  he  entered  the  place,  he  was  arrested  by  order 
of  Pedrarias,  whose  impatience  to  satiate  his  revenge 
did  not  suffer  him  to  languish  long  in  confinement. 
Judges  were  immediately  appointed  to  proceed  to  his 
trial.  An  accusation  of  disloyalty  to  the  king,  and 
of  an  intention  to  revolt  against  the  governor,  was  pre- 
ferred against  him.  Sentence  of  death  was  pro- 
nounced ;  and  though  the  judges  who  passed  it, 
seconded  by  the  whole  colony,  interceded  warmly  for 
his  pardon,  Pedrarias  continued  inexorable ;  and  the 
Spaniards  beheld,  with  astonishment  and  sorrow, 
the  public  execution  of  a  man  whom  they  univers- 
ally deemed  more  capable  than  any  one  who  had 
borne  command  in  America,  of  forming  and  accomp- 
lishing great  designs.  Upon  his  death,  the  expedition 
which  he  had  planned  was  relinquished.  Pedrarias, 
notwithstanding  the  violence  and  injustice  of  his  pro- 
ceedings, was  not  only  screened  from  punishment  by 
the  powerful  patronage  of  the  Bishop  of  Burgos  and  other  courtiers, 
but  continued  in  power.  Soon  after  he  obtained  permission  to  re- 
move the  colony  from  its  unwholesome  station  of  Santa  Maria  to 
Panama,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  isthmus  ;  and  though  it  did 
not  gain  much  in  point  of  healthfulness  by  the  change,  the  com- 
modious situation  of  this  new  settlement  contributed  greatly  to 
facilitate  the  subsequent  conquests  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  exten- 
sive countries  situated  upon  the  Southern  Ocean. 


COSTUME    OF    EXECUTIONER,    XV.  AND   XVI.    CENTURIES. 


HOLLOW   TERRA    COTTA    FIGURES, 

SO-CALLED   CHIBCHA-ANTIQU1TIES    FROM    COLUMBIA. 

ETHNOGRAPHICAL   MUSEUM,    BERLIN. 


CHAPTER   LXV. 


SCHEMES   FOR   THE    DISCOVERY   OF   PERU    UNSUCCESSFUL   FOR   SOME   TIME.     THE    ENTERPRISE 
AT   LAST    UNDERTAKEN    BY    PIZARRO,   ALMAGRO,  AND   LUQUE.       1524.) 


ROM  the  time  that  Nunez 
de  Balboa  discovered  the 
great  Southern  ocean,  and  received'  the 
first  obscure  hints  concerning  the  opu- 
lent countries  with  which  it  might  open  a 
communication,  the  wishes  and  schemes 
of  every  enterprising  person  in  the  col- 
onies of  Darien    and  Pana- 
ama  were  turned  towards 
the     wealth     of    those 
unknown  regions.    In 
an    age    when    the 
spirit  of  adventure 
was  so  ardent  and 


vigorous, 


that 


large  f ortun  es 
were  wasted,  and 
the  most  alarming 
dangers  braved,  in  pursuit 
of  discoveries  merely  pos- 
sible, the  faintest    ray  of 
hope   was    followed 
with  an  eager  expec- 
tation, and  the  slight- 
est  information  was 
sufficient  to  inspire  such 
perfect  confidence,  as  con- 
ducted men  to  the  most 
arduous  undertaking. 


THE    GREAT    BIRD  OF    PREV    OF    THE    ANDES,    THE   CONDOR,   DEVOURING  A    LLAM 


(608) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  609 

Accordingly,  several  armaments  were  fitted  out  in  order  to  ex- 
plore and  take  possession  of  the  countries  to  the  east  of  Panama, 
but  under  the  conduct  of  leaders  whose  talents  and  resources  were 
unequal  to  the  attempt.  As  the  excursions  of  those  adventurers 
did  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  province  to  which  the 
Spaniards  have  given  the  name  of  Tierra  Firme,  a  mountainous 
region  covered  with  woods,  thinly  inhabited,  and  extremely  un- 
healthy, they  returned  with  dismal  accounts  concerning  the  dis- 
tresses to  which  they  had  been  exposed,  and  the  unpromising  as- 
pect of  the  places  which  they  had  visited.  Damped  b}^  these  tidings, 
the  rage  for  discovery  in  that  direction  abated ;  and  it  became  the 
general  opinion  that  Balboa  had  founded  visionary  hopes,  on  the 
tale  of  an  ignorant  Indian,  ill  understood,  or  calculated  to  deceive. 

1524.]  But  there  were  three  persons  settled  in  Panama  on 
whom  the  circumstances  which  deterred  others  made  so  little  im- 
pression, that,  at  the  very  moment  when  all  considered  Balboa's 
expectations  of  discovering  a  rich  country,  by  steering  towards  the 
east,  as  chimerical,  they  resolved  to  attempt  the  execution  of  his 
scheme.  The  names  of  those  extraordinary  men  were  Francisco 
Pizarro,  Diego  de  Almagro,  and  Hernando  Luque.  Pizarro  was 
the  natural  son  of  a  gentleman  of  an  honorable  family  by  a  very 
low  woman,  and,  according  to  the  cruel  fate  which  often  attends 
the  offspring  of  unlawful  love,  had  been  so  totally  neglected  in  his 
youth  by  the  author  of  his  birth,  that  he  seems  to  have  destined 
him  never  to  rise  beyond  the  condition  of  his  mother.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  ungenerous  idea,  he  set  him,  when  bordering  on 
manhood,  to  keep  hogs.  But  the  aspiring  mind  of  young  Pizarro 
disdaining  that  ignoble  occupation,  he  abruptly  abandoned  his 
charge,  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  and,  after  serving  some  years  in  Italy, 
embarked  for  America,  which,  by  opening  such  a  boundless  range 
to  active  talents,  allured  every  adventurer  whose  fortune  was  not 
equal  to  his  ambitious  thoughts.  There  Pizarro  early  distinguished 
himself.  With  a  temper  of  mind  no  less  daring  than  the  constitu- 
tion of  his  body  was  robust,  he  was  foremost  in  every  danger,  pa- 
tient under  the  greatest  hardships,  and  unsubdued  by  any  fatigue. 
Though  so  illiterate  that  he  could  not  even  read,  he  was  soon  con- 
sidered as  a  man  formed  to  command.  Every  operation  committed 
to  his  conduct  proved  successful,  as,  by  a  happy  but  rare  conjunc- 
tion, he  united  perseverance  with  ardor,  and  was  as  cautious  in 


6io 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


executing  as  he  was  bold  in  forming  his  plans.  By  engaging  early 
in  active  life,  without  any  resource  but  his  own  talents  and  indus- 
try, and  by  depending  on  himself  alone  in  his  struggles  to  emerge 
from  obscurity,  he  acquired  such  a  thorough  knowledge  of  affairs, 
and  of  men,  that  he  was  fitted  to  assume  a  superior  part  in  con- 
ducting the  former,  and  in  governing  the  latter. 

Almagro  had  as  little  to'boast  of  his  descent  as  Pizarro.  The 
one  was  a  bastard,  the  other  a  foundling.  Bred,  like  his  compan- 
ion, in  the  camp,  he  yielded  not  to  him  in  any  of  the  soldierly 
qualities  of  intrepid  valor,  indefatigable  activity,  or  insurmounta- 
ble constancy  in  enduring  the  hardships  inseparable  from  military 
service  in  the  New  World.  But  in  Almagro  these  virtues  were 
accompanied  with  the  openness,  generosity,  and  candor  natural  to 
men  whose  profession  is  arms  ;  in  Pizarro  they  were  united  with 
the  address,  the  craft,  and  the  dissimulation  of  a  politician,  with 
the  art  of  concealing  his  own  purposes,  and  with  sagacity  to  pene- 
trate into  those  of  other  men. 

Hernando  de  Luque  was  an  ecclesiastic,  who  acted  both  as 
priest  and  schoolmaster  at  Panama,  and,  by  means  which  the  con- 
temporary writers  have  not  described,  had  amassed  riches  that  in- 
spired him  with  thoughts  of  rising  to  greater  eminence. 

Such  were  the  men  destined  to  overturn  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive empires  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Their  confederacy  for 
this  purpose  was  authorized  by  Pedrarias,  the  governor  of  Panama. 
Each  engaged  to  employ  his  whole  fortune  in  the  adventure.  Pi- 
zarro, the  least  wealthy  of  the  three,  as  he  could  not  throw  so  large 

a  sum  as  his  associates  into  the  common 
stock,  engaged  to  take  the  department  of 
greatest  fatigue  and  danger,  and  to  command 
in  person  the  armament  which  was  to  go  first 
upon  discovery.  Almagro  offered  to  conduct 
the  supplies  of  provisions  and  reinforcements 
of  troops,  of  which  Pizarro  might  stand  in 
need.  Luque  was  to  remain  at  Panama  to 
negotiate  with  the  governor,  and  superintend 
whatever  was  carrying  on  for  the  general  in- 
terest. As  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  uniformly 
accompanied  that  of  adventure  in  the  New 
World,    and    by     that    strange     union    both 


IN   THE   NAME  OF  THE  PRINCE  OF  PEACE,    PIZARRO,    ALMAGRO,   AND   FATHER 

LUQUE  RATIFY  A  CONTRACT  OF  wr   "4   PLUNDER  AND 

B'OOOSHED  ARE    THE  OBJECT, 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  6ll 

acquired  an  increase  of  force,  this  confederacy,  formed  by  ambition 
and  avarice,  was  confirmed  by  the  most  solemn  act  of  religion. 
Luque  celebrated  mass,  divided  a  consecrated  host  into  three,  and, 
reserving  one  part  to  himself,  gave  the  other  two  to  his  asso- 
ciates, of  which  they  partook ;  and  thus,  in  the  name  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  ratified  a  contract  of  which  plunder  and  bloodshed  were 
the  objects. 

The  attempt  was  begun  with  a  force  more  suited  to  the  humble 
condition  of  the  three  associates  than  to  the  greatness  of  the  enter- 
prise in  which  they  were  engaged.  Pizarro  set  sail  from  Panama 
[Nov.  14]  with  a  single  vessel  of  small  burden,  and  a  hundred  and 
twelve  men.  But  in  that  age,  so  little  were  the  Spanish  acquainted 
with  the  peculiarities  of  the  climate  in  America,  that  the  time  which 
Pizarro  chose  for  his  departure  was  the  most  improper  in  the  whole 
year ;  the  periodical  winds,  which  were  then  set  in,  being  directly 
adverse  to  the  course  which  he  proposed  to  steer.  After  beating 
about  for  seventy  days,  with  much  danger  and  incessant  fatigue, 
Pizarro's  progress  towards  the  south-east  was  not  greater  than 
what  a  skillful  navigator  will  now  make  in  as  many  hours.  He 
touched  at  several  places  on  the  coast  of  Tierra  Firme,  but  found 
everywhere  the  same  uninviting  country  which  former  adventurers 
had  described  ;  the  low  grounds  converted  into  swamps  by  an  over- 
flowing of  rivers ;  the  higher,  covered  with  impervious  woods ;  few 
inhabitants,  and  those  fierce  and  hostile.  Famine,  fatigue,  frequent 
rencounters  with  the  natives,  and,  above  all,  the  distempers  of  a 
moist,  sultry  climate,  combined  in  wasting  his  slender  band  of  fol- 
lowers. [1525.]  The  undaunted  resolution  of  their  leader  contin- 
ued, however,  for  some  time,  to  sustain  their  spirits,  although  no 
sign  had  yet  appeared  of  discovering  those  golden  regions  to  which 
he  had  promised  to  conduct  them.  At  length,  he  was  obliged  to 
abandon  that  inhospitable  coast,  and  retire  to  Chuchama,  opposite 
to  the  Pearl  Islands,  where  he  hoped  to  receive  a  supply  of  provis- 
ions and  troops  from  Panama. 

But  Almagro,  having  sailed  from  that  port  with  seventy  men, 
stood  directly  towards  that  part  of  the  continent  where  he  hoped 
to  meet  with  his  associates.  Not  finding  him  there,  he  landed  his 
soldiers,  who,  in  searching  for  their  companions,  underwent  the 
same  distresses,  and  were  exposed  to  the  same  dangers,  which  had 
driven  them  out  of  the  country.     Repulsed,  at  length  by  the  Indians 


6l2 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


UPPER    PIECE,  NECKLACE  MADE   FROM   NACRE.      LOWER   TWO 

PIECES,  SLINGS,   MADE    PARTLY    OF    HUMAN    HAIR, 

AND  PARTLY  OF  THE  FIBRES  OF  THE  ALOE. 

FROM  THE   NECROPOLIS  AT  ANCON. 


HEAD-DRESS  MADE    OF  FEATHERS,   THE    BAND 

MADE  OF  THE   FIBRES  OF  THE  ALOE. 

FOUND  AT  FACALA. 


PONCHO-LIKE  SHIRT  FOUNO  AT  VIRACOCHA- 
PAMPA. 


FOOT-GEAR  FOUND  AT  CAXAMALCA  AND  VIRACOCHAPAMPA 


in  a  sharp  conflict,  in  which  their  leader  lost  one  of 
his  eyes  by  the  wound  of  an  arrow,  they  likewise 
were  compelled  to  re-embark.  Chance  led  them  to 
the  place  of  Pizarro's  retreat,  where  they  found  some 
consolation  in  recounting  to  each  other  their  adven- 
tures, and  comparing  their  sufferings.  As  Almagro 
had  advanced  as  far  as  the  river  St.  Juan  [June  24], 
in  the  province  of  Popayan,  where  both  the  countrv 
and  inhabitants  appeared  with  a  more  promising 
aspect,  that  dawn  of  better  fortune  was  sufficient  to  deter- 
mine such  sanguine  projectors  not  to  abandon  their  scheme, 
notwithstanding  all  that  they  had  suffered  in  prosecuting  it. 
[1526].  Almagro  repaired  to  Panama  in  hopes  of  re- 
cruiting their  shattered  troops.  But  what  he  and  Pizarro 
had  suffered,  gave  his  countrymen  such  an  unfavorable  idea 
of  the  service,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  levy 
fourscore  men.  Feeble  as  this  reinforcement  was,  Alma- 
gro took  the  command  of  it,  and,  having  joined  Pizarro, 
they  did  not  hesitate  about  resuming  their  operations. 
After  a  long  series  of  disasters  and  disappointments,  not 
inferior  to  those  which  they  had  already  experienced,  part 
of  the  armament  reached  the  Bay  of  St.  Matthew,  on  the 
coast  of  Quito,  and  landing  at  Tacamez,  to  the  south  of  the 
river  of  Emeralds,  they  beheld  a  country  more  cham- 
paign and  fertile  than  any  they  had  yet  discovered  in  the 
Southern  Ocean,  the  natives  clad  in  garments  of  woolen  or 
cotton  stuff,  and  adorned  with  several  trinkets  of  gold  and 
silver. 

notwithstanding  those  favorable  appearances, 
magnified  beyond  the  truth,  both  by  the  vanity 
of  the  persons  who  brought  the  report  from 
Tacamez,  and  by  the  fond  imagination  of  those 
who  listened  to  them,  Pizarro  and  Almagro 
durst  not  venture  to  invade  a  country  so  popu- 
lous with  a  handful  of  men,  enfeebled  by  fatigue 
and  diseases.  They  retired  to  the  small  island 
of  Gallo,  where  Pizarro  remained  with  part  of 
the  troops,  and  his  associate  returned  to  Pana- 
ma, in  hopes  of  bringing  such  a  reinforcement, 


But, 


6ANDALS    FOUND    AT   CAJABAMBA. 


o 

< 

o 
h 

o 

D 
Z 

< 
J 

w 
X 

2 

O 

a 
z 
< 

w 

a 

i 

H 


O 
U 
01 

u 

z 
< 

h 

B 
Z 

J 

w 


o 
o 

0} 

z 
<: 

Of 

w 

w 
> 

o 

z 

5 
< 
a 

z 
w 

b) 
H 

* 

> 

z 

o 


I  < 

f  >• 

o  • 

t-  0 

-  sc 


o    < 

"  a. 


(.013) 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  615 

as  might  enable  them  to  take  possession  of  the  opulent  territories 
whose  existence  seemed  to  be  no  longer  doubtful. 

But  some  of  the  adventurers,  less  enterprising,  or  less  hardy, 
than  their  leaders,  having  secretly  conveyed  lamentable  accounts 
of  their  sufferings  and  losses  to  their  friends  at  Panama,  Almagro 
met  with  an  unfavorable  reception  from  Pedro  de  los  Rios,  who  had 
succeeded  Pedrarias  in  the  government  of  that  settlement.  After 
weighing  the  matter  with  that  cold  economical  prudence,  which 
appears  the  first  of  all  virtues  to  persons  whose  limited  faculties 
are  incapable  of  conceiving  or  executing  great  designs,  he  con- 
cluded an  expedition,  attended  with  such  certain  waste  of  men,  to 
be  so  detrimental  to  an  infant  and  feeble  colony,  that  he  not  only 
prohibited  the  raising  of  new  levies,  but  despatched  a  vessel  to 
bring  home  Pizarro  and  his  companions  from  the  island  of  Gallo. 
Almagro  and  Luque,  though  deeply  affected  with  those  measures, 
which  they  could  not  prevent,  and  durst  not  oppose,  found  means 
of  communicating  their  sentiments  privately  to  Pizarro,  and  ex- 
horted him  not  to  relinquish  an  enterprise  that  was  the  foundation 
of  all  their  hopes,  and  the  only  means  of  re-establishing  their  rep- 
utation and  fortune,  which  were  both  on  the  decline.  Pizarro's 
mind,  bent  with  inflexible  obstinacy  on  all  its  purposes,  needed  no 
incentive  to  persist  in  the  scheme.  He  peremptorily  refused  to 
obey  the  governor  of  Panama's  orders,  and  employed  all  his  ad- 
dress and  eloquence  in  persuading  his  men  not  to  abandon  him. 
But  the  incredible  calamities  to  which  they  had  been  exposed  were 
•still  so  recent  in  their  memories,  and  the  thoughts  of  revisiting 
their  families  and  friends,  after  a  long  absence,  rushed  with  such 
joy  into  their  minds,  that  when  Pizarro  drew  a  line  upon  the  sand 
with  his  sword,  permitting  such  as  wished  to  return  home  to  pass 
over  it,  only  sixteen  of  all  the  daring  veterans  in  his  service  had 
resolution  to  remain  with  their  commander. 

This  small,  but  determined  band,  whose  names  the  Spanish  his- 
torians record  with  deserved  praise,  as  the  persons  to  whose  perse- 
vering fortitude  their  country  is  indebted  for  the  most  valuable  of 
all  its  American  possessions,  fixed  their  residence  in  the  island  of 
Gorgona.  This,  as  it  was  further  removed  from  the  coast  than 
Gallo,  and  uninhabited,  they  considered  as  a  more  secure  retreat, 
where,  unmolested,  they  might  wait  for  supplies  from  Panama, 
which  they  trusted  that  the  activity  of  their  associates  would  be 


6i6 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


>  TERRA  COTTA  VASES.      THE  MIDDLE  ONE  REPRESENTS  AN  INDIAN  CARRYING 
A  LLAMA.      FROM  THE  NECROPOLIS  AT  ANCON. 


able  to  procure.  Almagro  and  Luque  were  not  inattentive  or  cold 
solicitors,  and  their  incessant  importunity  was  seconded  by  the  gen- 
eral voice  of  the  colony,  which  exclaimed  loudly  against  the  infamy 
of  exposing  brave  men,  engaged  in  the  public  sorvice,  and  charge- 
able with  no  error  but  what  flowed  from  an  excess  of  zeal  and  cour- 
age, to  perish  like  the  most  odious  criminals  in  a  desert  island. 
Overcome  by  those  entreaties  and  expostulations,  the  governor  at 
last  consented  to  send  a  small  vessel  to  their  relief.     But  that  he 

might  not  seem  to  encourage  Piz- 
arro  to  any  new  enterprise,  he  would 
not  permit  one  landman  to  embark 
on  board  of  it. 

By  this  time,  Pizarro  and  his 
companions  had  remained  five 
months  in  an  island,  infamous  for 
the  most  unhealthy  climate  in  that 
region  of  America.  During  all  this  period,  their  eyes  were  turned 
towards  Panama,  in  hopes  of  succor  from  their  countrymen ; 
but  worn  out  at  length  with  fruitless  expectations,  and  dispirited 
with  suffering  hardships  of  which  they  saw  no  end,  they,  in  despair, 
came  to  a  resolution  of  committing  themselves  to  the  ocean  on  a 
float,  rather  than  continue  in  that  detestable  abode.  But,  on  the 
arrival  of  the  vessel  from  Panama,  they  were  transported  with  such 
joy  that  all  their  sufferings  were  forgotten.  Their  hopes  revived ; 
and,  with  a  rapid  transition  not  unnatural  among  men  accustomed 
by  their  mode  of  life  to  sudden  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  high  confi- 
dence succeeding  to  extreme  dejection,  Pizarro  easily  induced  not 
only  his  own  followers,  but  the  crew  of  the  vessel  from  Panama,  to 
resume  his  former  scheme  with  fresh  ardor.  Instead  of  returning 
to  Panama,  they  stood  towards  the  south-east,  and, 
more  fortunate  in  this  than  in  any  of  their  past 
efforts,  they,  on  the  twentieth  day  after  their  de- 
parture from  Gorgona,  discovered  the  coast  of  Peru. 
After  touching  at  several  villages  near  the  shore, 
which  they  found  to  be  nowise  inviting,  they  landed 
at  Tumbez,  a  place  of  some  note  about  three  degrees 
south  of  the  line,  distinguished  for  its  stately  tem- 
ple, and  a  palace  of  the  Ineas  or  sovereigns  of  the 
country.     There    the  Spaniards    feasted  their  ej^es 


YELLOW  TERRA  COTTA  VASES,  WITH  RED  DESIGNS, 
FROM  HUANTAR. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


617 


with  the  first  view  of  the  opulence  and  civilization  of  the 
empire.  They  beheld  a  country  full}'  peopled,  and  cultiv 
an  appearance  of  regular  industry ;  the  natives  decently 
clothed,  and  possessed  of  ingenuity  so  far  surpassing  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  New  World,  as  to  have  the  use  of 
tame  domestic  animals.  But  what  chiefly  attracted  their 
notice  was  such  a  show  of  gold  and  silver,  not  only  in  the 
ornaments  of  their  persons  and  temples,  but  in  several 
vessels  and  utensils  for  common  use,  formed  of  those 
precious  metals,  as  left  no  room  to  doubt  that  they 
abounded  with  profusion  in  the  country.  Pizarro  and 
his  companions  seemed  now  to  have  attained  to  the  com- 
pletion of  their  most  sanguine  hopes,  and  fancied  that  all 
their  wishes  and  dreams  of  rich  domains,  and  inexhaust- 
ible treasures,  would  soon  be  realized. 

But  with  the  slender  force  then  under  his  command, 
Pizarro  could  only  view  the  rich  country  of  which  he 
hoped  hereafter  to  obtain  possession.  He  ranged,  how- 
ever, for  some  time  along  the  coast,  maintaining  every- 
where a  peaceable  intercourse  with  the  natives,  no  less 
astonished  at  their  new  visitants,  than  the  Spaniards  were 
with  the  uniform  appearance  of  opulence  and  cultivation 
which  they  beheld  [1527].  Having  explored  the  country 
as  far  as  was  requisite  to  ascertain  the  importance  of  the 
discovery,  Pizarro  procured  from  the  inhabitants  some  of 
their  Llamas,  or  tame  cattle,  to  which  the  Spaniards  gave 
the  name  of  sheep,  some  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  as 
well  as  some  specimens  of  their  other  works  of  inge- 
nuity, and  two  young  men,  whom  he  proposed  to  in- 
struct in  the  Castilian  language,  that  they  might  serve 
as  interpreters  in  the  expedition  which  he  meditated. 
With  these  he  arrived  at  Panama?  towards  the  close  of 
the  third  year  from  the  time  of  his  departure  thence. 
No  adventurer  of  the  age  suffered  hardships  or  encoun- 
tered dangers  which  equal  those  to  which  he  was  ex- 
posed during  this  long  period.  The  patience  with  which 
he  endured  the  one,  and  the  fortitude  with  which  he 
surmounted  the  other,  exceed  whatever  is  recorded  in 
the  history  of  the  New  World,  where  so  many  romantic 
displays  of  those  virtues  occur. 


Peruvian 
ated  with 


QUIPUS,  OR  KNOTTED  CORDS.  USED  BY  THE 

PERUVIANS  IN  RECKONING. 

FOUND    AT    PARAMANGO. 

The  Quipu  consists  of  a  thick  main 
cord,  with  minor  cords  tied  on  to  it 
at  certain  distances.  The  cords  are 
often  of  various  colors,  each  with  its 
own  proper  meaning;  red  for  soldiers, 
yellow  for  gold,  white  for  silver, 
green  for  corn,  etc.  A  single  knot 
meant  ten,  a  double  one  a  hundred, 
a  triple  one  a  thousand;  two  singles, 
side  by  side,  twenty:  two  doubles, 
two  hundred.  The  distances  of  the 
knots  from  the  main  cord  were  of 
great  importance.  The  difficulty  of 
deciphering  them  is  very  great,  since 
every  knot  indicates  an  idea,  and  a 
number  of  intermediate  notions  are 
left  out. 


ABACCUS,  OR    COUNTING   STONE. 
FOUND   AT    CHUCANA. 

A  peculiarly  formed  instrument, 
which  has  been  mistaken  bv  some  for 
city  relief-plans.  The  tribute  fur- 
nished by  the  various  tribes  was  thus 
carefully  registered:  each  tribe  was 
denoted  by  a  particular  color,  and 
each  hierher  floor  represented  a  ten 
times  higher  tribute,  so  that,  a  grain 
of  corn  in  the  highest  corner  towers 
denoted  a  hundred  times  greater 
tribute  than  a  grain  deposited  in  the 
lowest  box  between  the  two  towers, — 
Dr.  Fr.  Ratzel,  Voelkerkunde.  Vol. 
III. 


6i8 


THE    CONQUEST    OF   PERU. 


the 
nor 


^T^TS^S^SSS^Ba^!  % 


SEAT  WITH  TOP   MADE  FROM  THE 
MAGUEY   TREE. 


PIECE    OF   CLOTH. 
FROM    THE    NECROPOLIS    AT   ANCON. 

Though  the  Llama  herds  were  exclusively  the 
property  of  the  Incas,  each  inhabitant  received 
his  share  of  wool  yearly,  which,  together  with 
cotton,  and  other  fibres,  were  very  skillfully  and 
beautifully  woven  into  all  kinds  of  fabrics  by 
them. 


1528].     Neither  the  splendid  relation  that  Pizarro  gave  of 
incredible  opulence  of  the  country  which  he  had  discovered, 
his  bitter  complaints 
on    account    of  that 
unseasonable    recall 
of  his  forces,  which 
had    put    it    out    of 
his  power  to  attempt 
making    any    settle- 
ment   there,    could 
move  the  govern- 
or of  Panama  to 
swerve    from    his 
former     plan    of 
conduct.    He  still 
contended,    that 
the    colony    was 
not  in  a  condition 
to   invade  such  a 
mighty  empire, 

and  refused  to  authorize  an  expedition  which,  he 
foresaw,  would  be  so  alluring  that  it  might  ruin 
the  province  in  which  he  presided,  by  an  effort 
beyond  its  strength.  His  coldness,  however,  did 
not,  in  any  degree,  abate  the  ardor  of  the  three 
associates;  but  they  perceived  they  could  not 
carry  their  scheme  into  execution  without  the 
countenance  of  superior  authority,  and  must 
solicit  their  sovereign  to  grant  that  permis- 
sion which  they  could  not  extort  from  his  dele- 
gate. With  this  view,  after  adjusting  among 
themselves*  that  Pizarro  should  claim  the  sta- 
tion of  governor,  Almagro  that  of  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  Luque  the  dignity  of  bishop  in 
the  country  which  they  purposed  to  conquer, 
they  sent  Pizarro  as  their  agent  to  Spain, 
though  their  fortunes  were  now  so  much  ex- 
hausted by  the  repeated  efforts  which  they  had  made,  that  they 
found  some  difficulty  in  borrowing  the  small  sum  requisite  towards 
equipping  him  for  the  voyage. 


ANTIQUE  PERUVIAN  WOOD  CARVINGS,   IDOLS    AND  SCEPTRES. 

FOUND  IN  THE    GUANO  DEPOSITS  OF  THE    MACAB' 

ISLANDS.     CHRISTY  COLLECTION,  LONDON. 


TYPES   OF    FACE-URNS    FROM    OLD    PERU. 
ETHNOGRAPHICAL   MUSEUM,  BERLIN. 


PIZARRO    BEFORE    THE    EMPEROR    CHARLES   V. 

PAINTING    BY    A    LIZCANO. 


(«I9) 


620  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

Pizarro  lost  no  time  in  repairing  to  court ;  and  new  as  the 
scene  might  be  to  him,  he  appeared  before  the  emperor  with  the 
unembarrassed  dignity  of  a  man,  conscious  of  what  his  services 
merited ;  and  he  conducted  his  negotiations  with  an  insinuating 
dexterity  of  address,  which  could  not  have  been  expected  either 
from  his  education  or  former  habits  of  life.  His  feeling  descrip- 
tion of  his  own  sufferings,  and  his  pompous  account  of  the  country 
which  he  had  discovered,  confirmed  by  the  specimens  of  its  pro- 
ductions which  he  exhibited,  made  such  an  impression  both  on 
Charles  and  his  ministers,  that  the)-  not  only  approved  of  the  in- 
tended expedition,  but  seemed  to  be  interested  in  the  success  of  its 
leader.  Presuming  on  those  dispositions  in  his  favor,  Pizarro  paid 
little  attention  to  the  interest  of  his  associates.  As  the  pretensions 
of  Luque  did  not  interfere  with  his  own,  he  obtained  for  him  the 
ecclesiastical  dignity  to  which  he  aspired.  For  Almagro,  he  claimed 
only  the  command  of  the  fortress  which  should  be  erected  at  Tumbez. 
To  himself  he  secured  whatever  his  boundless  ambition  could  de- 
sire. He  was  appointed  [July  26],  governor,  captain-general,  and 
adelantado  of  all  the  country  which  he  had  discovered,  and  hoped 
to  conquer,  with  supreme  authority,  civil  as  well  as  military  ;  and 
with  full  right  to  all  the  privileges  and  emoluments  usually  granted 
to  adventurers  in  the  New  World.  His  jurisdiction  was  declared 
to  extend  two  hundred  leagues  along  the  coast  to  the  south  of  the 
river  St.  Jago;  to  be  independent  of  the  governor  of  Panama  ;  and 
he  had  power  to  nominate  all  the  officers  who  were  to  serve  under 
him.  In  return  for  those  concessions,  which  cost  the  court  of  Spain 
nothing,  as  the  enjoyment  of  them  depended  upon  the  success  of 
Pizarro's  own  efforts,  he  engaged  to  raise  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  and  to  provide  the  ships,  arms,  and  warlike  stores  requisite 
towards  subjecting  to  the  crown  of  Castile  the  country  of  which 
the  government  was  allotted  him. 

1529].  Inconsiderable  as  the  body  of  men  was  which  Pizarro 
had  undertaken  to  raise,  his  funds  and  -credit  were  so  low  that  he 
could  hardly  complete  half  the  number;  and  after  obtaining  his 
patents  from  the  crown,  he  was  obliged  to  steal  privately  out  of 
the  port  of  Seville,  in  order  to  elude  the  scrutiny  of  the  officers, 
who  had  it  in  charge  to  examine  whether  he  had  fulfilled  the  stipu- 
lations in  his  contract.  Before  his  departure,  however,  he  received 
some  supply  of  money  from  Cortes,  who  having  returned  to  Spain 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


621 


about  this  time,  was  willing  to  contribute  his  aid  towards  enabling 
an  ancient  companion,  with  whose  talents  and  courage  he  was  well 
acquainted,  to  begin  a  career  of  glory  similar  to  that  which  he  him- 
self had  finished. 

He  landed  at  Nombre  de  Dios,  and  marched  across  the  isthmus 
to  Panama,  accompanied  by  his  three  brothers,  Ferdinand,  Juan, 
and  Gonzalo,  of  whom  the  first  was  born  in  lawful  wedlock,  the 
two  latter,  like  himself,  were  of  illegitimate  birth,  and  by  Fraucisco 
de  Alcantara,  his  mother's  brother.  They  were  all  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  of  such  abilities  and  courage,  as  fitted  them  to  take  a  dis- 
tinguished part  in  his  subsequent  transactious. 

1530].  On  his  arrival  at  Panama,  Pizarro  found  Almagro  so 
much  exasperated  at  the  manner  in  which  he  had  conducted  his 
negotiation,  that  he  not  only  refused  to  act  any  longer  in  concert 
with  a  man  by  whose  perfidy  he  had  been  excluded  from  the  power 
and  honors  to  which  he  had  a  just  claim,  but  labored  to  form  a 
new  association,  in  order  to  thwart  or  to  rival  his  former  confeder- 
ate in  his  discoveries.  Pizarro,  however,  had  more  wisdom  and 
address  than  to  suffer  a  rupture  so  fatal  to  all  his  schemes,  to  be- 
come irreparable.  By  offering  voluntarily  to  relinquish  the  office 
of  adelantado,  and  promising  to  concur  in  soliciting  that  title,  with 
an  independent  government  for  Almagro,  he  gradually  mitigated 
the  rage  of  an  open-hearted  soldier,  which  had  been  violent,  but 
was  not  implacable.  Luque,  highly  satisfied  with  having  been  suc- 
cessful in  all  his  own  pretensions,  cordially  seconded  Pizarro's  en- 
deavors. A  reconciliation  was  effected,  and  the  confederacy  re- 
newed on  its  original  terms,  that  the  enterprise  should  be  carried 
on  at  the  common  expense  of  the  associates,  and  the  profits  accruing 
from  it  should  be  equally  divided  among  them. 


OLD  PERUVIAN  DIES    FOR  DECORATING  (TATTOOING)  THE  BODY. 
ETHNOGRAPHICAL  MUSEUM,   BERLJN. 


EAR   ORNAMENT,   MADE    FROM    RED    TERRA    COTTA.      FOUND   AT   CHANCAY. 
ONE-HALF    NATURAL    SIZE. 

The  wearing  of  these  ornaments  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear  was  reserved  for  the 
princes  of  the  royal  blood.  -At  the  age  of  puberty  their  ears  were  pierced,  and, 
from  time  to  time,  larger  blocks  were  introduced,  until  the  desired  size  was  at  last 
obtained. 


CHAPTER   LXVI. 


THE    STATE    OF    THE     PERUVIAN    EMPIRE     AT    THAT    TIME    FAVORABLE    TO     THE     INVADERS. 

PIZARRO   AVAILS    HIMSELF   OF    IT,   AND   ADVANCES   INTO   THE    HEART  OF 

THE   COUNTRY.     TAKES  THE    INCA    PRISONER. 


VEN  after  their  reunion,  and  the  utmost  efforts 
of  their  interest,  three  small  vessels,  with  a 
hundred  and  eighty  soldiers,  thirty-six  of 
whom  were  horsemen,  composed  the  arma- 
ment which  they  were  able  to  fit  out.  But 
the  astonishing  progress  of  the  Spaniards 
in  America  had  inspired  them  with  such 
ideas  of  their  own  superiority,  that  Pizarro 
did  not  hesitate  to  sail  with  this  contemptible 
force  [Feb.  1531]  to  invade  a  great  empire.  Almagro  was  left 
at  Panama,  as  formerry,  to  follow  him  with  what  reinforce- 
ment of  men  he  should  be  able  to  muster.  As  the  season  for  em- 
barking was  properly  chosen,  and  the  course  of  navigation  between 
Panama  and  Peru  was  now  better  known,  Pizarro  completed  the 
voyage  in  thirteen  days  ;  though,  by  the  force  of  the  winds  and  cur- 
rents, he  was  carried  above  a  hundred  leagues  to  the  north  of  Tum- 
bez,  the  place  of  his  destination,  and  obliged  to  land  his  troops  in 
the  bay  of  St.  Matthew.  Without  losing  a  moment,  he  began  to 
advance  towards  the  south,  taking  care,  however,  not  to  depart  far 
from  the  sea-shore,  both  that  he  might  easily  effect  a  junction  with 


(«M) 


THE    CONQUEST    OF   PERU. 


623 


WATER  PITCHERS  MADE  OF  TERRA  COTTA. 
FOUND  AT  ANCON  AND  THE    NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  TRUJIUO. 

That  with  the  representations  of  warriors 
depicted  on  its  base,  is  one  of  the  best  ex- 
amples of  old  Peruvian  handicraft  extant. 


the  supplies  which  he  expected  from  Panama,  and  secure  a  retreat 
in  case  of  any  disaster,  by  keeping  as  near  as  possible  to  his  ships. 
But  as  the  country  in  several  parts  on  the  coast  of  Peru  is  barren, 
unhealthful,  and  thinly  peopled  ;  as  the  Span- 
iards had  to  pass  all  the  rivers  near  their  mouths, 
where  the  body  of  water  is  greatest ;  and  as  the 
imprudence  of  Pizarro,  in  attacking  the  natives, 
when  he  should  have  studied  to  gain  their  con- 
fidence, had  forced  them  to  abandon  their  habi- 
tations ;  famine,  fatigue,  and  diseases  of  various 
kinds,  brought  upon  him  and  his  followers  cala- 
mities hardly  inferior  to  those  which  they  had 
endured  in  their  former  expedition.  What  they 
now  experienced  corresponded  so  ill  with  the 
alluring  description  of  the  country  given  by  Pizarro,  that  many 
began  to  reproach  him,  and  every  soldier  must  have  become  cold  to 
the  service,  if,  even  in  this  unfertile  region  of  Peru,  they  had  not 
met  with  some  appearances  of  wealth  and  civilization,  which  seemed 
to  justify  the  report  of  their  leader.  At  length 
they  reached  the  province  of  Coaque  [April 
14]  ;  and,  having  surprised  the  principal  set- 
tlement of  the  natives,  they  seized  their  ves- 
sels and  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver,  to  the 
amount  of  thirty  thousand  pesos,  with  other 
booty  of  such  value  as  dispelled  all  their 
doubts,  and  inspired  the  most  desponding 
with  sanguine  hopes. 

Pizarro  himself  was  so  much  delighted 
with  this  rich  spoil,  which  he  considered  as 
the  first  fruits  of  a  land  abounding  with 
treasure,  that  he  instantly  despatched  one  of  his  ships  to  Panama 
with  a  large  remittance  to  Almagro ;  and  another  to  Nicaragua 
with  a  considerable  sum  to  several  persons  of  influence  in  that 
province,  in  hopes  of  alluring  adventurers  by  this  early  display  of 
the  wealth  which  he  had  acquired.  Meanwhile,  he  continued  his 
march  along  the  coast ;  and  disdaining  to  employ  any  means  of  re- 
ducing the  natives  but  force,  he  attacked  them  with  such  violence 
in  their  scattered  habitations,  as  compelled  them  either  to  retire 
into  the  interior  country,  or  to  submit  to  his  yoke.     This  suddeu 

35 


TERRA  COTTA  VASES  FOUND  IN  THE  RUINS  OF  HUAULLANG,  NEAR  THE 
VILLAGE  OF  CORONGO,  ON  THE  FARM  OF  SENOR  URCON. 


TERRA  COTTA  VASE,   DECO- 
RATED WITH  BATTLE 
SCENES. 
ETHNOGRAPHICAL  MUSEUM, 
BERLIN. 


624 


THE   CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


BATTLE    CLUBS   AND 

LANCE. 

The  middle  one 
has  a  six-cornered 
stone  fastened  with 
cotton  to  its  base, 
like  the  old  German 
"  Morgenstern." 


appearance  of  invaders,  whose  aspect  and  manners  were  so  strange, 
and  whose  power  seemed  to  be  so  irresistible,  made  the  same  dreads 
ful  impression  as  in  other  parts  of  America.  Pizarro  hardly  met 
with  resistance  until  he  attacked  the  island  of  Puna  in  the  bay  of 
Guyaquil.  As  that  was  better  peopled  than  the  country  through 
which  he  had  passed,  and  its  inhabitants  fiercer  and  less  civilized 
than  those  of  the  continent,  they  defended  themselves  with  such 
obstinate  valor,  that  Pizarro  spent  six  months  in  reducing  them  to 
subjection.  From  Puna  he  proceeded  to  Tumbez,  where  the  dis-. 
tempers  which  raged  among  his  men  compelled  him  to  remain  for 
three  months. 

While  he  was  thus  employed,  he  began  to  reap  advantage  from 
his  attention  to  spread  the  fame  of  his  first  success  at  Coaque. 
Two  different  detachments  arrived  from  Nicaragua  [1532],  which, 
though  neither  exceeded  thirty  men,  he  considered  as  a  reinforce- 
ment of  great  consequence  to  his  feeble  band,  especially  as  the  one 
was  under  the  command  of  Sebastian  Benalcazar,  and  the  other  of 
Hernando  Soto,  officers  not  inferior  in  merit  and  reputation  to  any 
who  had  served  in  America.  From  Tumbez  he  proceeded  to  the 
river  Piura  [Ma}'  16],  and,  in  an  advantageous  station  near  the 
mouth  of  it,  he  established  the  first  Spanish  colony  in  Peru ;  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Michael. 

As  Pizarro  continued  to  advance  towards  the  centre  of  the 
Peruvian  empire,  he  gradually  received  more  full  information  con- 
cerning its  extent  and  policy,  as  well  as  the  situation  of  its  affairs 
at  that  juncture.  Without  some  knowledge  of  these,  he  could  not 
have  conducted  his  operations  with  propriety;  and  without  a  suit- 
able attention  to  them,  it  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  progress 
which  the  Spaniards  had  already  made,  or  to  unfold  the  causes  of 
their  subsequent  success. 

At  the  time  when  the  Spaniards  invaded  Peru,  the  dominions 
of  its  sovereigns  extended  in  length,  from  north  to  south,  above 
fifteen  hundred  miles  along  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Its  breadth,  from 
east  to  west,  was  much  less  considerable  ;  being  uniformly  bounded 
by  the  vast  ridge  of  the  Andes,  stretching  from  its  one  extremity 
to  the  other.  Peru,  like  the  rest  of  the  New  World,  was  originally 
possessed  by  small  independent  tribes,  differing  from  each  other  in 
manners,  and  in  their  forms  of  rude  policy.  All,  however,  were 
so  little  civilized,  that,  if  the  traditions  concerning  their  mode  of 


< 
^ 


\liJ& 


: 

; 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


627 


life,  preserved  among  their  descendants,  deserve  credit,  they  must 
be  classed  among  the  most  unimproved  savages  of  America. 
Strangers  to  every  species  of  cultivation  or 
regular  industry,  without  any  fixed  resi- 
dence, and  unacquainted  with  those  senti- 
ments and  obligations  which  form  the  first 
bond  of  social  union,  they  are  said  to  have 
roamed  about  naked  in  the  forests,  with 
which  the  country  was  then  covered,  more 
like  wild  beasts  than  like  men.  After  they 
had  struggled  for  several  ages  with  the  hard- 
ships and  calamities  which  are  inevitable  in 
such  a  state,  and  when  no  circumstance 
seemed  to  indicate  the  approach  of  any  un- 
common effort  towards  improvement,  we  are 
told  that  there  appeared,  on  the  banks  of 
the  lake  Titicaca,  a  man  and  woman  of  ma- 
jestic form,  clothed  in  decent  garments. 
They  declared  themselves  to  be  children  of 
the  Sun,  sent  by  their  beneficent  parent,  who 


EXTERIOR  WALL  OF    THE  FORTRESS  OF  SACSAIHIMMAN,  NEAR  CUZCO. 
(CYCLOPEAN  STYLE.) 


beheld  with  pity  the   miseries  of  the  human 
race,   to   instruct  and    to  reclaim    them.     At 


WALL  FROM  THE   FORTRESS  OF  OLLANTAITAMBO. 

The  walls  of  the  early  Peruvian  buildings  were  erected 
without  the  use  of  mortar  or  cement.  The  sides  of  the 
stones  were  often  carefully  trimmed,  and  so  closely,  that 
not  even  the  blade  of  a  knife  could   be  inserted  between 

their  persuasion,  enforced  by  reverence  for  them 
the  divinity  in  whose  name  they  were  supposed  to 
speak,  several  of  the  dispersed  savages  united  to- 
gether, and,  receiving  their  commands  as  heavenly 
injunctions,  followed  them  to  Cuzco,  where  they 
settled,  and  began  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a 
city. 

Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Ocollo,  for  such  were 
the  names  of  those  extraordinary  personages,  having 
thus  collected  some  wandering  tribes,  formed  that 
social  union,  which,  by  multiplying  the  desires  and 
uniting  the  efforts  of  the  human  species,  excites  in- 
dustry and  leads  to  improvement.  Manco  Capac  in- 
structed the  men  in  agriculture,  and  other  useful 
arts.  Mama  Ocollo  taught  the  women  to  spin  and 
to  weave.  By  the  labor  of  the  one  sex,  subsistence  became  less 
precarious  ;   by  that  of  the  other,  life  was  rendered  more  comfort- 


WALL  FROM  THE   NORTHERN   FACADE 

OF  THE  PALACE  OF  THE  INCA, 

ISLAND    OF   THE    SUN, 

LAKE  TITICACA. 


62S 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


WOOLEN  BAG;  OPENING  CAPA- 
BLE OF  BEING    CLOSED 
WITH  DRAWSTRING. 


WORK-BASKET  MADE  OF  WOVEN  GRASS  ;    USED   FOR 

THE  SAFE-KEEPING  OF  SPINNING  AND  WEAVING 

TOOLS,  WHICH  ARE  SEEN  LYING  ON  TOP. 


FROM  THE  NECROPOLIS  AT  ANCON. 


able.  After  securing  the  objects  of  first  necessity  in  an  infant 
state,  by  providing  food,  raiment,  and  habitations  for  the  rude 
people  of  whom  he  took  charge,  Manco  Capac  turned  his  atten- 
tion towards  introducing  such  laws 
and  policy  as  might  perpetuate  their 
happiness.  By  his  institutions,  which 
shall  be  more  particularly  explained 
hereafter,  the  various  relations  in 
private  life  were  established,  and  the 
duties  resulting  from  them  prescribed 
with  such  propriety,  as  gradually 
formed  a  barbarous  people  to  decency 
of  manners.  In  public  administra- 
tion, the  functions  of  persons  in  authority  were  so  precisely  defined, 
and  the  subordination  of  those  under  their  jurisdiction  maintained 
with  such  a  steady  hand,  that  the  society  in  which  he  presided  soon 
assumed  the  aspect  of  a  regular  and  well-governed  state. 

Thus,  according  to  the  Indian  tradition,  was  founded  the  em- 
pire of  the  Incas,  or  Lords  of  Peru.  At  first,  its  extent  was  small. 
The  territory  of  Manco  Capac  did  not  reach  above  eight  leagues 
from  Cuzco.  But  within  its  narrow  precincts  he  exercised  absolute 
and  uncontrolled  authority.  His  successors,  as  their  dominions 
extended,  arrogated  a  similar  jurisdiction  over  the  new  subjects 
which  they  acquired  ;  the  despotism  of  Asia  was  not  more  com- 
plete. The  Incas  were  not  only  obeyed  as  monarchs,  but  revered 
as  divinities.  Their  blood  was  held  to  be  sacred,  and,  by  prohib- 
iting intermarriages  with  the  people,  was  never  contaminated  by 
mixing  with  that  of  any  other  race.  The  family,  thus  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  nation,  was  distinguished  by  peculiarities  in 
dress  and  ornaments,  which  it  was  unlawful  for  others  to  assume. 
The  monarch  himself  appeared  with  ensigns  of  royalty  reserved 
for  him  alone ;  and  received  from  his  subjects  marks  of  obsequious 
homage  and  respect  which  approached  almost  to  adoration. 

But,  among  the  Peruvians,  this  unbounded  power  of  their 
monarchs  seems  to  have  been  uniformly  accompanied  with  attention 
to  the  good  of  their  subjects.  It  was  not  the  rage  of  conquest,  if 
we  may  believe  the  accounts  of  their  countrymen,  that  prompted 
the  Incas  to  extend  their  dominions,  but  the  desire  of  diffusing 
the  blessings  of  civilization,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  arts  which 


THE   INCA   (EMPEROR)   AND  COYA  (EMPRESS)   ACCOMPANIED    BY  THEIR   CECUMILLU    (DWARF). 
REDRAWN   FROM   DESCRIPTIONS  FURNISHED  BY  THE  (INCA)  8ARCILLASS0  DE  LA  VEGA,   HISTORIAN  OF   PERU. 


630 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


CHULPAS,  OR  SEPULCHRES,   THREE  LEAGUES  SOUTHEAST 
OF  PIMO. 

The  usual  mode  of  burying  was  under  ground  ; 
only  the  nobility  erected  monuments,  built  of  stone, 
above  ground. 


they  possessed,  among  the  barbarous  people  whom  they  reduced. 
During  a  succession  of  twelve  monarchs,  it  is  said  that   not  one 

deviated  from  this  beneficent  character. 

When   the    Spaniards   first  visited   the 
coast   of    Peru,    in    the    year    1526,   Huana 
Capac,  the  twelfth  monarch  from  the  founder 
of  the  state,  was  seated  on  the  throne.     He 
is    represented    as    a    prince    distinguished 
not  only  for  the  pacific  virtues  peculiar  to 
the  race,  but  eminent  for  his  martial  talents. 
By  his  victorious  arms  the  kingdom  of  Quito 
was   subjected,   a    conquest  of  such   extent 
and     importance     as    almost    doubled     the 
power  of    the    Peruvian    empire.      He   was 
fond  of  residing  in  the  capital  of  that  valu- 
able province  which  he  had  added  to  his 
dominions ;  and  notwithstanding  the  an- 
cient  and    fundamental  law  of  the  mon- 
archy against   polluting   the   royal   blood 
by  any   foreign    alliance,  he  married  the 
daughter   of  the  vanquished   monarch  of 
Quito.      She  bore  him  a  son  named  Ata- 
hualpa,    whom,    on  his    death    at    Quito, 
which  seems  to  have  happened  about  the 
year  1529,  he  appointed  his  successor  in 
that  kingdom,  leaving  the  rest  of  his  do- 
minions  to    Huascar,    his    eldest  son    by 
a  mother  of  the  royal  race.    Greatly  as  the 
Peruvians  revered  the  memory  of  a  mon- 
arch, who  had  reigned  with  greater  repu- 
tation and  splendor  than  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors, the  destination  of  Huana  Capac, 
concerning    the   succession,    appeared    so 
repugnant    to    a  maxim    coeval  with  the 
empire,  and  founded  on  authority  deemed 
sacred,  that   it  was  no  sooner  known    at 
Cuzco    than    it    excited    general  disgust. 
Encouraged   by   those  sentiments  of  his 
subjects,  Huascar  required  his  brother  to 


MUMMIES    FROM    THE    NECROPOLIS    AT    ANCON. 


The  Peruvians  were  as  successful  as  the  Egyptians  in  the 
miserable  attempt  to  perpetuate  the  existence  of  the  body  be- 
yond the  limits  assigned  to  it  by  nature.  Unlike  the  elaborate 
embalming  of  the  Egyptians,  it  consisted  in  exposing  it  to  the 
action  of  the  cold,  exceedingly  dry.  and  highly  rarified  atmos- 
phere of  the  mountains.  They  buried  with  the  deceased  some 
of  his  apparel,  utensils,  and  frequently  treasure;  and  com- 
pleted  the  gloomy  ceremony  by  sacrificing  his  wives  and 
domestics  to  bear  him  company,  and  do  him  service  in  the 
happy  regions  beyond  the  clouds. — Prescottt  Conqin-st,   Vol,  I. 

The  body  of  the  deceased  was  put  into  a  sitting  posture, 
knees  tightly  drawn  to  the  body,  and  the  whole  carefully 
bound  and  wound  about  with  cotton  or  woolen  cloths,  until  it 
assumed  a  bag-like  appearance,  as  seen  in  the  illustration. 


INCA  MANCO  CCAPAC.     Cm.  1260  r 


ii. 


INCA  SINCHI   ROCCA 


vf     ?     < /§ 


III. 


INCA  ILOQUE   YUPANQUI 


COYA  MAMA  OCLLO  HUACCO 


COYA  MAMA  CORA    OCCLLO 


,-vT 
COYA    MAMA   CCAHUANA 


_  THE   TWELVE    'NCAS    EMPERORS)    AND   COYAS    (EMPRESSES)    OF    PERU 


as  for 


f63i) 


COYA    MAMA  CUCA 


[I"*" 


COYA  MAMA   CURIHILLPA 


■■   ,  m 


VI 


INCA  ROCCA 


COYA   MAMA  MICHAY  CHIMPO. 


tious  work    which  Garcillassc  de  la  Vega  had  the  happiness  to  see  ^  tataug^-  ^  f^orX  W^d^'lf  k-ography,  a 
E&tf  *£ "wh  ?hTheT«««  wififng  to  com-nWare,  and  which  we  here  reproduce.-/**. 


(63s) 


VII 


VIII 


IX. 


INCA  PACHA  CCUTIC.     Cm.  ,400. 
Cieza  de  Leon  puts  in   his  place  inca 


COYA   MAMA   ANAHUARQUI 


giittural   far 
(633) 


'    '     . .  ■ sp 


COYA   MAMA  CHIMPO  OCLLO 


XII. 


(634l 


INCA   HUAYNA   CCAPAC     CiR.  1475. 


COYA   MAMA    PILLCO   HUAOCO 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


635 


renounce  the  government  of  Quito,  and  to  acknowledge  him  as 
his  lawful  superior.  But  it  had  been  the  first  care  of  Atahualpa 
to  gain  a  large  body  of  troops  which  had  accompanied  his  father 
to  Quito.  These  were  the  flower  of 
the  Peruvian  warriors,  to  whose 
valor  Huana  Capac  had  been  in- 
debted for  all  his  victories.  Relying 
on  their  support,  Atahualpa  first 
eluded  his  brother's  demand,  and 
then  marched  against  him  in  hostile 
array. 

Thus  the  ambition  of  these  two 
young  men,  the  title  of  the  one 
founded  on  ancient  usage,  and  that 
of  the  other  asserted  by  the  veteran 
troops,  involved  Peru  in  civil  war, 
a  calamity  to  which,  under  a  suc- 
cession of  virtuous  princes,  it  had 
hitherto  been  a  stranger.  In  such  a  contest  the  issue  was  obvious. 
The  force  of  arms  triumphed  over  the  authority  of  laws.  Atahualpa 
remained  victorious,  and  made  a  cruel  use  of  his  victory.  Conscious 
of  the  defect  in  his  own  title  to  the  crown,  he  attempted  to  extermi- 
nate the  royal  race,  by  putting  to  death  all  the  children  of  the  Sun 
descended  from  Manco  Capac,  whom  he  could  seize  either  by  force 
or  stratagem.  From  a  political  motive,  the  life  of  his  unfortunate 
rival  Huascar,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  a  battle  which  de- 
cided the  fate  of  the  em- 

.* 


INTERIOR    OF    CMULPA. 


Each  tomb  of  this  kind  w^s  adapted  for  the  reception  of  a  dozen  individu- 
als, whose  bodies  were  seated  in  a  circle,  their  feet  touching  one  another. 


pire,    was    prolonged  for 
some  time,  that,  by  issu- 
ing orders    in  his  name 
the  usurper  might 


> 
more 


WARRIORS    DURING   THE    REIGN    OF   THE    INCAS. 


easily  establish   his   own 
authority. 

When  Pizarro  landed 
in  the  bay  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, this  civil  war  raeed 
between  the  two  brothers  in  its  greatest  fury.  Had  he  made 
any  hostile  attempt  in  his  former  visit  to  Peru,  in  the  year  1527, 
he  must  then  have  encountered  the  force  of  a  powerful  state,  united 


The  warriors  here  represented  are  all  provided  with  helmet 
though  one  only  seems  to  have  a  shield. 


OLD    PERUVIAN    VASE    PAINTING. 

and  a  kind  of  lance 


636 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


under  a  monarch,  possessed  of  capacity  as  well  as  courage,  and  un- 
embarrassed with  any  care  that  could  divert  him  from  opposing  his 
progress.  But  at  this  time,  the  two  competitors,  though  they  re- 
ceived early  accounts  of  the  arrival  and  violent  proceedings  of  the 
Spaniards,  were  so  intent  upon  the  operations  of  a  war,  which  they 

deemed  more  interesting,  that  they  paid  no 
attention  to  the  motions  of  an  enemy,  too 
inconsiderable  in  number  to  excite  any 
great  alarm,  and  to  whom  it  would  be  easy, 
as  they  imagined,  to  give  a  check  when 
more  at  leisure. 

By  this  fortunate  coincidence  of  events, 
whereof  Pizarro  could  have  no  foresight, 
and  of  which,  from  his  defective  mode  of 
intercourse  with  the  people  of  the  country, 
he  remained  long  ignorant,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  carry  on  his  operations  un- 
molested, and  advanced  to  the  centre  of  a 
great  empire,  before  one  effort  of  its  power 
was  exerted  to  stop  his  career.  During 
their  progress,  the  Spaniards  had  acquired 
some  imperfect  knowledge  of  this  struggle 
between  the  two  contending  factions.  The 
first  complete  information,  with  respect  to 
it,  they  received  from  messengers  whom 
Huascar  sent  to  Pizarro,  in  order  to  solicit 
his  aid  against  Atahualpa,  whom  he  repre- 
sented as  a  rebel  and  an  usurper.  Pizarro 
perceived,  at  once,  the  importance  of  this 
intelligence,  and  foresaw  so  clearly  all  the 
advantages  which  might  be  derived  from 
this  divided  state  of  the  kingdom  which  he 
had  invaded,  that,  without  waiting  for  the 
reinforcement  which  he  expected  from  Panama,  he  determined  to 
push  forward,  while  intestine  discord  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  the 
Peruvians  to  attack  him  with  their  whole  force,  and  while,  by  tak- 
ing part,  as  circumstances  should  incline  him,  with  one  of  the  com- 
petitors, he  might  be  enabled  with  greater  ease  to  crush  both.  En- 
terprising as  the  Spaniards  of  that  age  were  in  all  their  operations 


INTI-CUSIHUALPA    CHUASCAR. 


COYA    MAMA    CHOQUI. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  637 

against  Americans,  and  distinguished  as  Pizarro  was  among  his 
countrymen  for  daring  courage,  we  can  hardly  suppose  that,  after 
having  proceeded  hitherto  slowly,  and  with  much  caution,  he  would 
have  changed  at  once  his  system  of  operation,  and  have  ventured 
upon  a  measure  so  hazardous,  without  some  new  motive  or  prospect 
to  justify  it. 

As  he  was  obliged  to  divide  his  troops,  in  order  to  leave  a  gar- 
rison in  St.  Michael,  sufficient  to  defend  a  situation  of  equal  im- 
portance as  a  place  of  retreat  in  case  of  any  disaster,  and  as  a  port 
for  receiving  any  supplies  which  should  come  from  Panama,  he 
began  his  march  with  a  very  slender  and  ill-accoutred  train  of  fol- 
lowers. They  consisted  of  sixty-two  horsemen,  and  a  hundred  and 
two  foot-soldiers,  of  whom  twenty  were  armed  with  cross-bows,  and 
three  with  muskets.  He  directed  his  course  towards  Caxamalca,  a 
small  town  at  the  distance  of  twelve  days'  march  from  St.  Michael, 
where  Atahualpa  was  encamped  with  a  considerable  body  of  troops. 
Before  he  had  proceeded  far,  an  officer  despatched  by  the  Inca  met 
him  with  a  valuable  present  from  that  prince,  accompanied  with  a 
proffer  of  his  alliance,  and  assurances  of  a  friendly  reception  at 
Caxamalca.  Pizarro,  according  to  the  usual  artifice  of  his  country- 
men in  America,  pretended  to  come  as  the  ambassador  of  a  very 
powerful  monarch,  and  declaring  that  he  was  now  advancing  with 
an  intention  to  offer  Atahualpa  his  aid  against  those  enemies  who 
disputed  his  title  to  the  throne. 

As  the  object  of  the  Spaniards  in  entering  their  country  was 
altogether  incomprehensible  to  the  Peruvians,  they  had  formed  va- 
rious conjectures  concerning  it  without  being  able  to  decide  whether 
they  should  consider  their  new  guests  as  beings  of  a  superior  nature, 
who  had  visited  them  from  some  beneficent  motive,  or  as  formida- 
ble avengers  of  their  crimes,  and  enemies  to  their  repose  and  lib- 
erty. The  continual  professions  of  the  Spaniards,  that  they  came 
to  enlighten  them  with  the  knowledge  of  truth,  and  lead  them  in 
the  way  of  happiness,  favored  the  former  opinion  ;  the  outrages 
which  they  committed,  their  rapaciousness  and  cruelty,  were  awful 
confirmations  of  the  latter.  While  in  this  state  of  uncertainty. 
Pizarro's  declaration  of  his  pacific  intentions  so  far  removed  all  the 
Inca's  fears,  that  he  determined  to  give  him  a  friendly  reception. 
In  consequence  of  this  resolution,  the  Spaniards  were  allowed  to 
march  in  tranquillity  across  the  sandy  desert  between  St.  Michael 


638  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

and  Motupe,  where  the  most  feeble  effort  of  an  enemy,  added  to 
the  unavoidable  distresses  which  they  suffered  in  passing  through 
that  comfortless  region,  must  have  proved  fatal  to   them. 

*  Before  them  now  rose  the  stupendous  Andes,  rock  piled  upon 
rock,  their  skirts  below  dark  with  evergreen  forests,  varied  here  and 
there  by  terraced  patches  of  cultivated  garden,  with  the  peasant's 
cottage  clinging  to  their  shaggy  sides,  and  their  crests  of  snow 
glittering  high  in  the  heavens, — presenting  altogether  such  a  wild 
chaos  of  magnificence  and  beauty  as  no  other  mountain  scenery 
in  the  world  can  show.  Across  this  tremendous  rampart,  through 
a  labyrinth  of  passes,  easily  capable  of  defense  by  a  handful  of 
men  against  an  army,  the  troops  were  now  to  march.  To  the  right 
ran  a  broad  and  level  road,  with  its  border  of  friendly  shades,  and 
wide  enough  for  two  carriages  to  pass  abraast.  It  was  one  of  the 
great  routes  leading  to  Cuzco,  and  seemed  by  its  pleasant  and  easy 
access  to  invite  the  wayworn  soldier  to  choose  it  in  preference  to 
the  dangerous  mountain  defiles.  Many  were  accordingly  of  opinion 
that  the  army  should  take  this  course,  and  abandon  the  original 
destination  to  Caxamalca.  But  such  was  not  the  decision  of 
Pizarro. 

The  Spaniards  had  everywhere  proclaimed  their  purpose,  he 
said,  to  visit  the  Inca  in  his  camp.  This  purpose  had  been  com- 
municated to  the  Inca  himself.  To  take  an  opposite  direction 
now  would  only  be  to  draw  on  them  the  imputation  of  cowardice, 
and  to  incur  Atahualpa's  contempt.  No  alternative  remained  but 
to  march  straight  across  the  sierra  to  his  quarters.  "  Let  every 
one  of  you,"  said  the  bold  cavalier,  "  take  heart  and  go  forward 
like  a  good  soldier,  nothing  daunted  by  the  smallness  of  your 
numbers.  For  in  the  greatest  extremity  God  ever  fights  for  his 
own ;  and  doubt  not  He  will  humble  the  pride  of  the  heathen,  and 
bring  him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  faith,  the  great  end  and 
object  of  the  Conquest." 

Pizarro,  like  Cortes,  possessed  a  good  share  of  that  frank 
and  manly  eloquence  which  touches  the  heart  of  the  soldier  more 
than  the  parade  of  rhetoric  or  the  finest  flow  of  elocution.  He 
was  a  soldier  himself,  and  partook  in  all  the  feelings  of  the  soldier, 

*  The  following  description  of  the  perilous  ascent  of  the  Andes,  and  the  successful  ac- 
complishment of  the  feat,  is  from  the  poetic  pen  of  one  of  America's  best  beloved  sons, 
William  H.  Prescott—  Ed. 


PERILOUS  ASCENT  OF  THE   CORDILLERAS  DE  LOS  ANDES   BY  PIZARRO, 
On  his  way  to  meet  the  Inca  Atahnalpa,  at  Caxamalca. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  641 

his  joys,  his  hopes,  and  his  disappointments.  He  was  not  raised 
by  rank  and  education  above  sympathy  with  the  humblest  of  his 
followers.  Every  chord  in  their  bosoms  vibrated  with  the  same 
pulsations  as  his  own,  and  the  conviction  of  this  gave  him  a  mas- 
tery over  them.  "  Lead  on,"  they  shouted,  as  he  finished  his  brief 
but  animating  address,  "lead  on  wherever  you  think  best.  We 
will  follow  with  good-will,  and  you  shall  see  that  we  can  do  our 
duty  in  the  cause  of  God  and  the  King!"  There  was  no  longer 
hesitation.  All  thoughts  were  now  bent  on  the  instant  passage  of 
the  Cordilleras. 

That  night  Pizarro  held  a  council  of  his  principal  officers, 
and  it  was  determined  that  he  should  lead  the  advance,  consisting 
of  forty  horse  and  sixty  foot,  and  reconnoiter  the  ground ;  while 
the  rest  of  the  company,  under  his  brother  Hernando,  should  oc- 
cupy their  present  position  till  they  received  further  orders. 

At  early  dawn  the  Spanish  general  and  his  detachment  were 
under  arms,  and  prepared  to  breast  the  difficulties  of  the  sierra. 
These  proved  even  greater  than  had  been  foreseen.  The  path 
had  been  conducted  in  the  most  judicious  manner  round  the 
rugged  and  precipitous  side  of  the  mountains,  so  as  best  to  avoid 
the  natural  impediments  presented  by  the  ground.  But  it  was 
necessarily  so  steep,  in  many  places,  that  the  cavalry  were  obliged 
to  dismount,  and,  scrambling  up  as  they  could,  to  lead  their  horses 
by  the  bridle.  In  many  places,  too,  where  some  huge  crag  or  emi- 
nence overhung  the  road,  this  was  driven  to  the  very  verge  of  the 
precipice  ;  and  the  traveller  was  compelled  to  wind  along  the  nar- 
row ledge  of  rock,  scarcely  wide  enough  for  his  single  steed,  where 
a  misstep  would  precipitate  him  hundreds,  nay,  thousands,  of  feet 
into  the  dreadful  abyss  !  The  wild  passes  of  the  sierra,  practica- 
ble for  the  half-naked  Indian,  and  even  for  the  sure  and  circum- 
spect mule,  —  an  animal  that  seems  to  have  been  created  for  the 
roads  of  the  Cordilleras,  — were  formidable  to  the  man-at-arms  en- 
cumbered with  his  panoply  of  mail.  The  tremendous  fissures  or 
quebradas,  so  frightful  in  this  mountain  chain,  yawned  open,  as  if 
the  Andes  had  been  split  asunder  by  some  terrible  convulsion, 
showing  a  broad  expanse  of  the  primitive  rock  on  their  sides,  par- 
tially mantled  over  with  the  spontaneous  vegetation  of  ages  ;  while 
their  obscure  depths  furnished  a  channel  for  the  torrents,  that,  ris- 
ing in  the    heart  of  the  sierra,  worked  their  way   gradually  into 


642 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


CA    FORTRESS   OF    PARAMANGA    AS   SEEN    FROM    THE 
HEIGHTS    OF    THE    MARITIME    CHAIN    OF 
THE   ANDES. 
(FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH.) 


light,  and  spread  over  the  savannas    and  green   valleys  of  tierra 
caliente  on  their  way  to  the  great  ocean. 

Many  of  these  passes  afforded  obvious  points  of  defense ;  and 
the    Spaniards,   as    the}-    entered    the    rocky 
defiles,  looked   with    apprehension   lest    they 
might    rouse    some    foe    from    his    ambush. 
This  apprehension  was  heightened,  as,  at  the 
summit  of  a  steep  and  narrow  gorge,  in  which 
they    were    engaged,    they    beheld    a   strong- 
work,  rising   like  a   fortress,  and    frowning, 
as    it    were,  in  gloomy  defiance  on    the    in- 
vaders.    As    they    drew   near   this    building, 
which    was   of  solid    stone,  commanding    an 
angle   of  the   road,  they   almost  expected  to 
see    the    dusky   forms    of    the    warriors   rise 
over    the    battlements,    and   to    receive   their 
tempests  of  missiles  on  their  bucklers ;  for  it  was  in   so  strong  a 
position,  that  a  few  resolute  men  might  easily  have  held  there  an 
army  at  bay.     But  they  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  the  place  un- 
tenanted, and  their   spirits  were   greatly   raised    by    the 
conviction  that  the   Indian   monarch   did  not  intend    to 
dispute  their  passage,  when  it  would  have  been   easy  to 
do  so  with  success. 

Pizarro  now  sent  orders  to  his  brother 
to  follow  without  delay ;  and,  after  refresh- 
ing his  men,  continued  his  toilsome  ascent, 
and  before  nightfall  reached  an  eminence 
crowned  by  another  fortress,  of  even  greater 
strength  than  the  preceding.  It  was  built 
of  solid  masonry,  the  lower  part  excavated 
from  the  living  rock,  and  the  whole  work 
executed  with  skill  not  inferior  to  that  of 
the  European  architect. 

Here  Pizarro  took  up   his  quarters  for 

the  night.     Without  waiting  for  the  arrival 

of  the  rear,  on  the  following  morning  he  resumed  his  march, 

leading  still  deeper  into  the   intricate  gorges  of  the  sierra. 

The    climate   had    gradual!}'    changed,    and     the    men    and 


FERNANDO  PIZARRO 
FOLLOWING 
WITH   THE  REAR 
GUARD  UP  THE  STEEP  INCLINE  OF  THE 
MOUNTAIN    PASS. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  643 

horses,  especially  the  latter,  suffered  severely  from  the  cold,  so  long 
accustomed  as  they  had  been  to  the  sultry  climate  of  the  tropics. 
The  vegetation  also  had  changed  its  character  ;  and  the  magnificent 
timber  which  covered  the  lower  level  of  the  country  had  gradually 
given  way  to  the  funereal  forest  of  pine,  and,  as  they  rose  still 
higher,  to  the  stunted  growth  of  numberless  Alpine  plants,  whose 
hardy  natures  found  a  congenial  temperature  in  the  icy  atmos- 
phere of  the  more  elevated  regions.  These  dreary  solitudes  seemed 
to  be  nearly  abandoned  by  the  brute  creation  as  well  as  by  man. 
The  light-footed  vicuna,  roaming  in  its  native  state,  might  be 
sometimes  seen  looking  down  from  some  air)'-  cliff,  where  the  foot 
of  the  hunter  dared  not  venture.  But  instead  of  the  feathered 
tribes  whose  gay  plumage  sparkled  in  the  deep  glooms  of  the  tropi- 
cal forests,  the  adventurers  now  beheld  only  the.  great  bird  of  the 
Andes,  the  loathsome  condor,  who,  sailing  high  above  the  clouds, 
followed  with  doleful  cries  in  the  track  of  the  army,  as  if  guided 
by  instinct  in  the  path  of  blood  and  carnage. 

At  length  they  reached  the  crest  of  the  Cordillera,  where  it 
spreads  out  into  a  bold  and  bleak  expanse,  with  scarce  the  vestige 
of  vegetation,  except  what  is  afforded  by  the  pajonal,  a  dried  yel- 
low grass,  which,  as  it  is  seen  from  below,  encircling  the  base  of 
the  snow-covered  peaks,  looks,  with  its  brilliant  straw-color  lighted 
up  in  the  rays  of  an  ardent  sun,  like  a  setting  of  gold  round  pin- 
nacles of  burnished  silver.  The  land  was  sterile,  as  usual  in  min- 
ing districts,  and  they  were  drawing  near  the  once  famous  gold 
quarries  on  the  way  to  Caxamalca; 

"Rocks  rich  in  gems,  and  mountains  big  with  mines. 
That  on  the  high  equator  ridgy  rise." 

Here  Pizarro  halted  for  the  coming  up  of  the  rear.  The  air  was 
sharp  and  frosty  ;  and  the  soldiers,  spreading  their  tents,  lighted 
fires,  and,  huddling  round  them,  endeavored  to  find  some  repose 
after  their  laborious  march. 

They  had  not  been  long  in  these  quarters,  when  a  messenger 
arrived.  He  informed  the  sreneral  that  the  road  was  free  from  en. 
emies,  and  that  an  embassy  from  the  Inca  was  on  its  way  to  the 
Castilian  camp.  Pizarro  now  sent  back  to  quicken  the  march  of 
the  rear,  as  he  was  unwilling  that  the  Peruvian  envoy  should  find 
him  with  his  present  diminished  numbers.  The  rest  of  the  army 
were  not  far  distant,  and  not  long  after  reached  the  encampment. 

36 


i 


644  THE   CONQUEST    OF  PERU. 

In  a  short  time  the  Indian  embassy  also  arrived,  which  con- 
sisted of  one  of  the  Inca  nobles  and  several  attendants,  bringing  a 
welcome  present  of  llamas  to  the  Spanish  commander.  The  Pe- 
ruvian bore,  also,  the  greetings  of  his  master,  who  wished  to  know 
when  the  Spaniards  would  arrive  at  Caxamalca,  that  he  might  pro- 
vide suitable  refreshments  for  them.  Pizarro  learned  that  the  Inca 
had  left  Guamachucho,  and  was  now  lying  with  a  small  force  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Caxamalca,  at  a  place  celebrated  for  its  natural 
springs  of  warm  water.  The  Peruvian  was  an  intelligent  person, 
and  the  Spanish  commander  gathered  from  him  many  particulars 
respecting  the  late  contests  which  had  distracted  the  empire. 

As  the  envoy  vaunted  in  lofty  terms  the  military  prowess  and 
resources  of  his  sovereign,  Pizarro  thought  it  politic  to  show  that 
it  had  no  power  to  overawe  him.  He  expressed  his  satisfaction  at 
the  triumphs  of  Atahualpa,  who,  he  acknowledged,  had  raised  him- 
self high  in  the  rank  of  Indian  warriors.  But  he  was  as  inferior, 
he  added  with  more  policy  than  politeness,  to  the  monarch  who 
ruled  over  the  white  men,  as  the  petty  curacas  of  the  country  were 
inferior  to  him.  This  was  evident  from  the  ease  with  which  a  few 
Spaniards  had  overrun  this  great  continent,  subduing  one  nation 
after  another,  that  had  offered  resistance  to  their  arms.  He  had 
been  led  by  the  fame  of  Atahualpa  to  visit  his  dominions,  and  to 
offer  him  his  services  in  his  wars  ;  and,  if  he  were  received  by  the 
Inca  in  the  same  friendly  spirit  with  which  he  came,  he  was  willing, 
for  the  aid  he  could  render  him,  to  postpone  awhile  his  passage 
across  the  country  to  the  opposite  seas.  The  Indian,  according  to 
the  Castilian  accounts,  listened  with  awe  to  this  strain  of  glorifica- 
tion from  the  Spanish  commander.  Yet  it  is  possible  that  the  en- 
voy was  a  better  diplomatist  than  they  imagined ;  and  that  he  un- 
derstood it  was  only  the  game  of  brag  at  which  he  was  playing  with 
his  more  civilized  antagonist. 

On  the  succeeding  morning,  at  an  early  hour,  the  troops  were 
again  on  their  march,  and  for  two  days  were  occupied  in  threading 
the  airy  defiles  of  the  Cordilleras. 

The  descent  of  the  sierra,  though  the  Andes  are  less  precip- 
itous on  their  eastern  side  than  towards  the  west,  was  attended 
with  difficulties  almost  equal  to  those  of  the  upward  march  ;  and 
the  Spaniards  felt  no  little  satisfaction,  when,  on  the  seventh  day, 
they  arrived  in  view  of  the  valley  of  Caxamalca,  which,  enamelled 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


647 


with  all  the  beauties  of  cultivation,  lay  unrolled  like  a  rich  and 
variegated  carpet  of  verdure,  in  strong  contrast  with  the  dark 
forms  of  the  Andes,  that  rose  up  everywhere  around  it.* 

On  entering  Caxamalca,  Pizarro  took  possession  of  a  large 
court,  on  one  side  of  which  was  a  house  which  the  Spanish  histo- 
rians call  a  palace  of  the  Inca,  and  on  the  other  a  temple  of  the 
Sun,  the  whole  surrounded  with  a  strong  rampart  or  wall  of  earth. 
When  he  had  posted  his  troops  in  this  advantageous  station,  he 
despatched  his  brother  Ferdinand  and  Hernando  Soto  to  the  camp 
of  Atahualpa,  which  was  about  a  league  distant  from  the  town.  He 
instructed  them  to  confirm  the  declaration  which  he  had  formerly 
made  of  his  pacific  disposition,  and  to  desire  an  interview  with  the 
Inca,  that  he  might  explain  more  fully  the  intention  of  the  Span- 
iards in  visiting  his  country.  They  were  treated  with  all  the  re- 
spectful hospitality  usual  among  the  Peruvians  in  the  reception  of 
their  most  cordial  friends,  and  Atahualpa  promised  to  visit  the 
Spanish  commander  nsxt  day  in  his  quarters.  The  decent  deport- 
ment of  the  Peruvian  monarch,  the  order  of  his  court,  and  the  rev- 
erence with  which  his  subjects  approached  his  person  and  obeyed 
his  commands,  astonished  those  Spaniards  who  had  never  met  in 
America  with  any  thing  more  dignified  than  the  petty  cacique  of  a 
barbarous  tribe.  But  their  eyes  were  still  more  powerfully  attracted 
by  the  vast  profusion  of  wealth  which  they  observed  in  the  Inca's 
camp.  The  rich  ornaments  worn  by  him  and  his  attendants,  the 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver  in  which  the  repast  offered  to  them  was 
served  up,  the  multitude  of  utensils  of  every  kind  formed  of  those 
precious  metals,  opened  prospects  far  exceeding  any  idea  of  opu- 
lence that  an  European  of  the  sixteenth  century  could  form. 

On  their  return  to  Caxa- 
malca, while  their  minds  were 
yet  warm  with  admiration  and 
desire  of  the  wealth  which  they 
had  beheld,  they  gave  such  a 
description  of  it  to  their  coun- 
trymen as  confirmed  Pizarro 
in  a  resolution  which  he  had 
already  taken.     From  his  own 

*End  of  W.  H.   Prescott's  description 
of  the  march  across  the  Cordilleras. 


THE    CHURCH    OF    HELEN    AT    CAXAMALCA.       (FROM    A     PHOTOGRAPH.) 


648  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

observation  of  American  manners  during  his  long  service  in  the 
New  World,  as  well  as  from  the  advantages  which  Cortes  had 
derived  from  seizing  Montezuma,  he  knew  of  what  consequence 
it  was  to  have  the  Inca  in  his  power.  For  this  purpose,  he 
formed  a  plan  as  daring  as  it  was  perfidious.  Notwithstanding 
the  character  that  he  had  assumed  of  an  ambassador  from  a  power- 
ful monarch,  who  courted  an  alliance  with  the  Inca,  and  in  violation 
of  the  repeated  offers  which  he  made  to  him  of  his  own  friendship 
and  assistance,  he  determined  to  avail  himself  of  the  unsuspicious 
simplicity  with  which  Atahualpa  relied  on  his  professions,  and  to 
seize  the  person  of  the  Inca  during  the  interview  to  which  he  had 
invited  him.  He  prepared  for  the  execution  of  his  scheme  with 
the  same  deliberate  arrangement,  and  with  as  little  compunction,  as 
if  it  had  reflected  no  disgrace  on  himself  or  his  country.  He  di- 
vided his  cavalry  into  three  small  squadrons,  under  the  command 
of  his  brother  Ferdinand,  Soto,  and  Benalcazar ;  his  infantry  were 
formed  in  one  body,  except  twenty  of  most  tried  courage,  whom  he 
kept  near  his  own  person  to  support  him  in  the  dangerous  service 
which  he  reserved  for  himself ;  the  artillery,  consisting  of  two  field- 
pieces,  and  the  crossbow-men,  were  placed  opposite  to  the  avenue 
by  which  Atahualpa  was  to  approach.  All  were  commanded  to  keep 
within  the  square,  and  not  to  move  until  the  signal  for  action  was 
given. 

Early  in  the  morning  [Nov.  16]  the  Peruvian  camp  was  all  in 
motion.  But  as  Atahualpa  was  solicitous  to  appear  with  the  great- 
est splendor  and  magnificence  in  his  first  interview  with  the  stran- 
gers, the  preparations  for  this  were  so  tedious,  that  the  day  was  far 
advanced  before  he  began  his  march.  Even  then,  lest  the  order  of 
the  procession  should  be  deranged,  he  moved  so  slowly,  that  the 
Spaniards  became  impatient,  and  apprehensive  that  some  suspicion 
of  their  intention  might  be  the  cause  of  this  delay.  In  order  to 
remove  this,  Pizarro  despatched  one  of  his  officers  with  fresh  assur- 
ances of  his  friendly  disposition.  At  length  the  Inca  approached. 
First  of  all  appeared  four  hundred  men,  in  an  uniform  dress,  as  har- 
bingers to  clear  the  way  before  him.  He  himself,  sitting  on  a  throne 
or  couch,  adorned  with  plumes  of  various  colors,  and  almost  covered 
with  plates  of  gold  and  silver  enriched  with  precious  stones,  was 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  his  principal  attendants.  Behind  him 
came  some  chief  officers  of  his  court,  carried  in  the  same  manner. 


FATHER  VALVERDE  ADDRESSES  THE  INCA  ATAHNALPA, 

Propounding  to  him  the  principals  and  mysteries  of  the  church,  and  his  obligations  to 

the  Vicar,  of  God  on  Earth.       Painting  by  O.  Graeff. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  651 

Several  bands  of  singers  and  dancers  accompanied  this  cavalcade  ; 
and  the  whole  plain  was  covered  with  troops,  amounting  to  more 
than  thirty  thousand  men. 

As  the  Inca  drew  near  the  Spanish  quarters,  Father  Vincent 
Valverde,  chaplain  to  the  expedition,  advanced  with  a  crucifix  in 
one  hand,  and  a  breviary  in  the  other,  and  in  a  long  discourse  ex- 
plained to  him  the  doctrine  of  the  creation,  the  fall  of  Adam,  the 
incarnation,  the  sufferings  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
appointment  of  St.  Peter  as  God's  vicegerent  on  earth,  the  trans- 
mission of  his  apostolic  power,  by  succession,  to  the  Popes,  the  do- 
nation made  to  the  king  of  Castile,  by  Pope  Alexander  of  all  the 
regions  of  the  New  World.  In  consequence  of  all  this,  he  required 
Atahualpa  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith,  to  acknowledge  the  su- 
preme jurisdiction  of  the  Pope,  and  to  submit  to  the  king  of  Castile 
as  his  lawful  sovereign  ;  promising,  if  he  complied  instantly  with 
this  requisition,  that  the  Castilian  monarch  would  protect  his  do- 
minions, and  permit  him  to  continue  in  the  exercise  of  his  royal 
authority ;  but  if  he  should  impiously  refuse  to  obey  this  summons, 
he  denounced  war  against  him  in  his  master's  name,  and  threatened 
him  with  the  most  dreadful  effects  of  his  vengeance. 

This  strange  harangue,  unfolding  deep  mysteries,  and  alluding 
to  unknown  facts,  of  which  no  power  of  eloquence  could  have  con- 
veyed at  once  a  distinct  idea  to  an  American,  was  so  lamely  translated 
by  an  unskillful  interpreter,  little  acquainted  with  the  idiom  of  the 
Spanish  tongue,  and  incapable  of  expressing  himself  with  propriety 
in  the  language  of  the  Inca,  that  its  general  tenor  was  altogether 
incomprehensible  to  Atahualpa.  Some  parts  in  it,  of  more  obvious 
meaning,  filled  him  with  astonishment  and  indignation.  His  reply, 
however,  was  temperate.  He  began  with  observing,  that  he  was 
lord  of  the  dominions  over  which  he  reigned  by  hereditary  succes- 
sion ;  and  added,  that  he  could  not  conceive  how  a  foreign  priest 
should  pretend  to  dispose  of  territories  which  did  not  belong  to 
him  ;  that  if  such  a  preposterous  grant  had  been  made,  he,  who  was 
the  rightful  possessor,  refused  to  confirm  it ;  that  he  had  no  incli- 
nation to  renounce  the  religious  institutions  established  by  his  an- 
cestors ;  nor  would  he  forsake  the  service  of  the  Sun,  the  immortal 
divinity  whom  he  and  his  people  revered,  in  order  to  worship  the 
God  of  the  Spaniards,  who  was  subject  to  death  ;  that  with  respect 
to  other  matters  contained  in  his  discourse,  as  he  had  never  heard 
of  them  before,  and  did  not  now  understand  their  meaning,  he  de- 


652  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

sired  to  know  where  the  priest  had  learned  things  so  extraordinary. 
"  In  this  book,"  answered  Valverde,  reaching  out  to  him  his  brevi- 
ary. The  Inca  opened  it  eagerly,  and,  turning  over  the  leaves, 
lifted  it  to  his  ear:  "This,"  says  he,  "is  silent;  it  tells  me  noth- 
ing;" and  threw  it  with  disdain  to  the  ground.  The  enraged  monk, 
running  towards  his  countrymen,  cried  out,  "  To  arms,  Christians, 
to  arms ;  the  word  of  God  is  insulted ;  avenge  this  profanation  on 
those  impious  dogs  !  " 

Pizarro,  who,  during  this  long  conference,  had  with  difficulty 
restrained  his  soldiers,  eager  to  seize  the  rich  spoils  of  which  they 
had  now  so  near  a  view,  immediately  gave  the  signal  of  assault. 
At  once  the  martial  music  struck  up,  the  cannon  and  musketry 
began  to  fire,  the  hprse  sallied  out  fiercely  to  the  charge,  the  in- 
fantry rushed  on  sword  in  hand.  The  Peruvians,  astonished  at 
the  suddenness  of  an  attack  which  they  did  not  expect,  and  dis- 
mayed at  the  destructive  effect  of  the  firearms,  and  the  irresistible 
impression  of  the  cavalry,  fled  with  universal  consternation  on 
every  side,  without  attempting  either  to  annoy  the  enemy,  or  to 
defend  themselves.  Pizarro,  at  the  head  of  his  chosen  band,  ad- 
vanced directly  towards  the  Inca;  and  though  his  nobles  crowded 
around  him  with  officious  zeal,  and  fell  in  numbers  at  his  feet, 
while  they  vied  one  with  another  in  sacrificing  their  own  lives, 
that  they  might  cover  the  sacred  person  of  their  sovereign,  the 
Spaniards  soon  penetrated  to  the  royal  seat;  and  Pizarro,  seizing 
the  Inca  by  the  arm,  dragged  him  to  the  ground,  and  carried  him 
as  a  prisoner  to  his  quarters.  The  fate  of  the  monarch  increased 
the  precipitate  flight  of  his  followers.  The  Spaniards  pursued 
them  towards  every  quarter,  and  with  deliberate  and  unrelenting 
barbarity  continued  to  slaughter  wretched  fugitives,  who  never 
once  offered  to  resist.  The  carnaee  did  not  cease  until  the  close 
of  day.  Above  four  thousand  Peruvians  were  killed.  Not  a  single 
Spaniard  fell,  nor  was  one  wounded  but  Pizarro  himself,  whose 
hand  was  slightly  hurt  by  one  of  his  own  soldiers,  while  struggling 
eagerly  to  lay  hold  on  the  Inca. 

The  plunder  of  the  field  was  rich  beyond  any  idea  which  the 
Spaniards  had  yet  formed  concerning  the  wealth  of  Peru;  and  they 
were  so  transported  with  the  value  of  the  acquisition,  as  well  as 
the  greatness  of  their  success,  that  they  passed  the  night  in  the 
extravagant  exultation  natural  to  indigent  adventurers  on  such  an 
extraordinary  change  of  fortune. 


CHAPTER   LXVII. 


THE    DEJECTED    EMPEROR   OFFERS   A    RANSOM    COMMENSURATE  WITH    THE    OPULENCE  OF    HIS 

DOMINIONS.     ARRIVAL  OF   ALMAGRO.     DEATH    OF  SHUASCAR  AND   EXECUTION   OF 

THE   INCA.      DISSOLUTION   OF  GOVERNMENT  AND  ORDER    IN    PERU. 


INDIAN    WOMAN    SPINNING. 


T  first  the  captive  monarch  could  hardly 
believe  a  calamity  which  he  so  little  ex- 
pected to  be  real.      But  he  soon  felt  all 
the  misery  of  his  fate,  and  the  dejection 
into  which  he  sunk  was  in  proportion  to 
the  height  of  grandeur    from  which  he 
had  fallen.     Pizarro,  afraid  of  losing  all 
the  advantages  which  he  hoped   to  de- 
rive from  the  posssesion  of  such  a  pris- 
oner, labored  to  console  him  with  pro- 
fessions of  kindness  and  respect,  that  cor- 
responded ill  with  his  actions.    By  residing 
among  the    Spaniards,   the    Inca    quickly 
discovered  their  ruling  passion,  which  in- 
deed, they  were  nowise  solicitous   to  con- 
ceal, and,  by  ap- 


plying to  that, 
made  an  attempt  to  recover  his  liberty. 
He  offered  as  a  ransom  what  astonished 
the  Spaniards,  even  after  all  they  now 
knew  concerning  the  opulence  of  his 
kingdom.  The  apartment  in  which  he 
was  confined  was  twenty-two  feet  in 
length    and    sixteen    in     breadth ;     he 


HOUSE  IN    CAXAMALCA   WHEflE  THE    INCA  WAS   KEPT  CONFINED. 
(FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH.) 

(653) 


654  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

undertook  to  fill  it  with  vessels  of  gold  as  high  as  he  could  reach. 
Pizarro  closed  eagerly  with  this  tempting  proposal,  and  a  line  was 
drawn  upon  the  walls  of  the  chamber,  to  mark  the  stipulated 
height  to  which  the  treasure  was  to  rise. 

Atahualpa,  transported  with  having  obtained  some  prospect 
of  liberty,  took  measures  instantly  for  fulfilling  his  part  of  the 
agreement,  by  sending  messengers  to  Cuzco,  Quito,  and  other 
places,  where  gold  had  been  amassed  in  largest  quantities,  either 
for  adorning  the  temples  of  the  gods,  or  the  houses  of  the  Inca,  to 
bring  what  was  necessary  for  completing  his  ransom  directly  to 
Caxamalca.  Though  Atahualpa  was  now  in  the  custody  of  his  ene- 
mies, yet  so  much  were  the  Peruvians  accustomed  to  respect  every 
mandate  issued  by  their  sovereign,  that  his  orders  were  executed 
with  the  greatest  alacrity.  Soothed  with  hopes  of  recovering  his  lib- 
erty by  this  means,  the  subjects  of  the  Inca  were  afraid  of  endanger- 
ing his  life  by  forming  any  other  scheme  for  his  relief;  and  though 
the  force  of  the  empire  was  still  entire,  no  preparations  were  made, 
and  no  army  assembled  to  avenge  their  own  wrongs  or  those  of 
their  monarch.  The  Spaniards  remained  in  Caxamalca  tranquil 
and  unmolested.  Small  detachments  of  their  number  marched 
into  remote  provinces  of  the  empire,  and,  instead  of  meeting  with 
any  opposition,  were  everywhere  received  with  marks  of  the  most 
submissive  respect. 

Inconsiderable  as  those  parties  were,  and  desirous  as  Pizarro 
might  be  to  obtain  some  knowledge  of  the  interior  state  of  the 
country,  he  could  not  have  ventured  upon  any  diminution  of  his 
main  body,  if  he  had  not  about  this  time  [December],  received  an 
account  of  Almagro's  having  landed  at  St.  Michael  with  such  a  re- 
inforcement as  would  almost  double  the  number  of  his  followers. 
The  arrival  of  this  long-expected  succor  was  not  more  agreeable  to 
the  Spaniards  than  alarming  to  the  Inca.  He  saw  the  power  of  his 
enemies  increase;  and  as  he  knew  neither  the  source  whence  they 
derived  their  supplies,  nor  the  means  by  which  they  were  conveyed 
to  Peru,  he  could  not  foresee  to  what  a  height  the  inundation  that 
poured  in  upon  his  dominions  might  rise  [1533].  While  disquieted 
with  such  apprehensions,  he  learned  that  some  Spaniards,  in  their 
way  to  Cuzco,  had  visited  his  brother  Huascar  in  the  place  where 
he  kept  him  confined,  and  that  the  captive  prince  had  represented 
to  them  the  justice  of  his  own  cause,  and,  as  an  inducement  to  es- 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


655 


pouse  it,  had  promised  them  a  quantity  of  treasure  greatly  beyond 
that  which  Atahualpa  had  engaged  to  pay  for  his  ransom.  If  the 
Spaniards  should  listen  to  this  proposal,  Atahualpa  perceived  his 
own  destruction  to  be  inevitable  ;  and  suspecting  that  their  insatia- 
ble  thirst  for  gold  would 
tempt  them  to  lend  a  favor- 
able ear  to  it,  he  determined 
to  sacrifice  his  brother's  life, 
that  he  might  save  his  own ; 
and  his  orders  for  this  pur- 
pose were  executed,  like  all 
his  other  commands,  with 
scrupulous  punctuality. 

Meanwhile,  Indians  daily 
•arrived  at  Caxamalca  from 
different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, loaded  with  treasure. 
A  great  part  of  the  stipulated 
quantity  was  now  amassed, 
and  Atahualpa  assured  the 
Spaniards  that  the  only 
thing  which  prevented  the 
whole  from  being  brought  in, 
was  the  remoteness  of  the 
provinces  where  it  was  de- 
posited. But  such  vast  piles 
of  gold,  presented  continual- 
ly to  the  view  of  needy  sol- 
diers, had  so  inflamed  their 
avarice,  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble any  longer  to  restrain 
their  impatience  to  obtain 
possession  of  this  rich  booty. 
Orders  were  given  for  melt- 


THE    MURDER   OF   THE    INCA    HUASCAR    BY    ORDER   OF    ATAHUALPA. 


ing  down  the  whole,  except 
some  pieces  of  curious  fabric,  reserved  as  a  present  for  the  em- 
peror. After  setting  apart  the  fifth  due  to  the  crown,  and  a  hun- 
dred thousand  pesos  as  a  donative  to  the  soldiers  which  arrived 
with    Almagro,    there    remained    one    million    five    hundred    and 


656  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

twenty-eight  thousand  five  hundred  pesos  to  Pizarro  and  his  follow- 
ers.* The  festival  of  St.  James  [July  25],  the  patron  saint  of  Spain, 
was  the  day  chosen  for  the  partition  of  this  enormous  sum,  and  the 
manner  of  conducting  it  strongly  marks  the  strange  alliance  of 
fanaticism  with  avarice,  which  I  have  more  than  once  had  occasion 
to  point  out  as  a  striking  feature  in  the  character  of  the  conquerors 
of  the  New  World.  Though  assembled  to  divide  the  spoils  of  an 
innocent  people,  procured  by  deceit,  extortion,  and  cruelty,  the 
transaction  began  with  a  solemn  invocation  of  the  name  of  God,  as 
if  they  could  have  expected  the  guidance  of  heaven  in  distributing 
those  wages  of  iniquity.  In  this  division,  above  eight  thousand 
pesos,  at  that  time  not  inferior  in  effective  value  to  as  many  pounds 
sterling  in  the  present  century,  fell  to  the  share  of  each  horseman, 
and  half  that  sum  to  each  foot  soldier.  Pizarro  himself,  and  his 
officers,  received  dividends  in  proportion  to  the  dignity  of  their 
rank. 

There  is  no  example  in  history  of  such  a  sudden  acquisition 
of  wealth  by  military  service,  nor  was  ever  a  sum  so  great  divided 
among  so  small  a  number  of  soldiers.  Many  of  them  having  re- 
ceived a  recompense  for  their  services  far  beyond  their  most  san- 
guine hopes,  were  so  impatient  to  retire  from  fatigue  and  danger, 
in  order  to  spend  the  remainder  of  their  days  in  their  native  coun- 
try in  ease  and  opulence,  that  they  demanded  their  discharge  with 
clamorous  importunity.  Pizarro,  sensible  that  from  such  men  he 
could  expect  neither  enterprise  in  action  nor  fortitude  in  suffering, 
and  persuaded  that  wherever  they  went  the  display  of  their  riches 
would  allure  adventurers,  less  opulent  but  more  hard}',  to  his  stand- 
ard, granted  their  suit  without  reluctance,  and  permitted  above 
sixty  of  them  to  accompany  his  brother  Ferdinand,  whom  he  sent 
to  Spain  with  an  account  of  his  success,  and  the  present  destined 
for  the  emperor. 

The  Spaniards  having  divided  among  them  the  treasure 
amassed  for  the  Inca's  ransom,  he  insisted  with  them  to  fulfill  their 
promise  of  setting  him  at  liberty.  But  nothing  was  further  from 
Pizarro's  thoughts.  During  his  long  service  in  the  New  World,  he 
had  imbibed  those  ideas  and  maxims  of  his  fellow-soldiers,  which 
led  them  to  consider  its  inhabitants  as  an  inferior  race,  neither 
worth}'  of  the  name,  nor   entitled  to  the  rights  of  men.     In  his 

*The  ranson  of  Atahualpa  is  computed  to  have  amounted  to  more  than  $15,000,000. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  657 

compact  with  Atahualpa,  he  had  no  other  object  than  to  amuse  his 
captive  with  such  a  prospect  of  recovering  his  liberty,  as  might  in- 
duce him  to  lend  all  the  aid  of  his  authority  towards  collecting 
the  wealth  of  his  kingdom.  Having  now  accomplished  this,  he  no 
longer  regarded  his  plighted  faith  ;  and  at  the  very  time  when 
the  credulous  prince  hoped  to  be  replaced  on  his  throne,  he  had 
secretly  resolved  to  bereave  him  of  life.  Many  circumstances  seem 
to  have  concurred  in  prompting  him  to  this  action,  the  most  crim- 
inal and  atrocious  that  stains  the  Spanish  name,  amidst  all  the 
deeds  of  violence  committed  in  carrying  on  the  conquests  of  the 
New  World. 

Though  Pizarro  had  seized  the  Inca,  in  imitation  of  Cortes' 
conduct  towards  the  Mexican  monarch,  he  did  not  possess  talents 
for  carrying  on  the  same  artful  plan  of  policy.  Destitute  of  the 
temper  and  address  requisite  for  gaining  the  confidence  of  his 
prisoner,  he  never  reaped  all  the  advantages  which  might  have 
been  derived  from  being  master  of  his  person  and  authority.  Ata- 
hualpa was,  indeed,  a  prince  of  greater  abilities  and  discernment 
than  Montezuma,  and  seems  to  have  penetrated  more  thoroughly 
into  the  character  and  intentions  of  the  Spaniards.  Mutual  suspi- 
cion and  distrust  accordingly  took  place  between  them.  The  strict 
attention  with  which  it  was  necessary  to  guard  a  captive  of  such 
importance,  greatly  increased  the  fatigue  of  military  duty.  The 
utility  of  keeping  him  appeared  inconsiderable ;  and  Pizarro  felt 
him  as  an  encumbrance,  from  which  he  wished  to  be  delivered. 

Almagro  and  his  followers  had  made  a  demand  for  an  equal 
share  in  the  Inca's  ransom  ;  and  though  Pizarro  had  bestowed  upon 
the  private  men  the  large  gratuity  which  I  have  mentioned,  and 
endeavored  to  soothe  their  leader  by  presents  of  great  value,  they 
still  continued  dissatisfied.  They  were  apprehensive  that,  as  long 
as  Atahualpa  remained  a  prisonei,  Pizarro's  soldiers  would  apply 
whatever  treasure  should  be  acquired,  to  make  up  what  was  want- 
ing of  the  quantity  stipulated  for  his  ransom,  and  under  that  pre- 
text exclude  them  from  any  part  of  it.  They  insisted  eagerly  on 
putting  the  Inca  to  death,  that  all  the  adventurers  in  Peru  might 
thereafter  be  on  an  equal  footing. 

Pizarro  himself  began  to  be  alarmed  with  accounts  of  forces 
assembling  in  the  remote  provinces  of  the  empire,  and  suspected 
Atahualpa  of  having  issued  orders  for  that  purpose.     These  fears 


65S 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


and  suspicions  were  artfully  increased  by  Philippillo,  one  of  the 
Indians  whom  Pizarro  had  carried  off  from  Tumbez  in  the  year 
1527,  and  whom  he  employed  as  an  interpreter.  The  function 
which  he  performed  admitting  this  man  to  familiar  intercourse 
with  the  captive  monarch,  he  presumed,  notwithstanding  the  mean- 
ness of  his  birth,  to  raise  his  affec- 
tions to  a  Coya,  or  descendant  of  the 
Sun,  one  of  Atahualpa's  wives ;  and 
seeing  no  prospect  of  gratifying  that 
passion  during  the  life  of  the  mon- 
arch, he  endeavored  to  fill  the  ears 
of  the  Spaniards  with  such  accounts 
of  the  Inca's  secret  designs  and 
preparations,  as  might  awaken  their 
jealousy,  and  incite  them  to  cut  him 
off. 

While  Almagro  and  his  followers 
openly  demanded  the  life  of  the 
Inca,  and  Philippillo  labored  to  ruin 
him  by  private  machinations,  that 
unhappy  prince  inadvertently  con- 
tributed to  hasten  his  own  fate. 
During  his  confinement  he  had  at- 
tached himself  with  peculiar  affection 
to  Ferdinand  Pizarro  and  Hernando 
Soto ;  who,  as  they  were  persons  of 
birth  and  education  superior  to  the 
rough  adventurers  with  whom  they 
served,  were  accustomed  to  behave 
with  more  decency  and  attention  to 
the  captive  monarch.  Soothed  with 
this  respect  from  persons  of  such 
high  rank,  he  delighted  in  their  so- 
ciety. But  in  the  presence  of  the  gov- 
ernor he  was  always  uneasy  and  overawed.  This  dread  soon  came 
to  be  mingled  with  contempt.  Among  all  the  European  arts,  what 
he  admired  most  was  that  of  reading  and  writing ;  and  he  long  de- 
liberated with  himself,  whether  he  should  regard  it  as  a  natural  or 
acquired  talent.     In  order  to  determine  this,  he  desired  one  of  the 


ATAHUALPA. 

FROM    THE    ENGRAVING    IN    MONTANUS'    NIEUWE    EN    ONBEKENOE    WEERELD 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


66 1 


soldiers,  who  guarded  him,  to  write  the  nante  of  God  on  the  nail 
of  his  thumb.  This  he  showed  successively  to  several  Spaniards, 
asking  its  meaning;  and  to  his  amazement,  they  all,  without  hesita- 
tion, returned  the  same  answer.  At  length  Pizarro  entered;  and, 
on  presenting  it  to  him,  he  blushed,  and,  with  some  confusion  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  his  ignorance.  From  that  moment  Atahu- 
alpa  considered  him  as  a  mean  person,  less  instructed  than  his  own 
soldiers  ;  and  he  had  not  address  enough  to  conceal  the  sentiments 
with  which  this  discovery  inspired  him.  To  be  the  object  of  a 
barbarian's  scorn,  not  only  mortified  the  pride  of  Pizarro,  but  ex- 
cited such  resentment  in  his  breast,  as  added  force  to  all  the  other 
considerations  which  prompted  him  to  put  the  Inca  to  death. 

But  in  order  to  give  some  color  of  justice  to  this  violent  ac- 
tion, and  that  he  himself  might  be  exempted  from  standing  singly 
responsible  for  the  commission  of  it,  Pizarro  resolved  to  try  the 
Iuca  with  all  the  formalities  observed  in  the  criminal  courts  of 
Spain.  Pizarro  himself,  and  Almagro,  with  two  assistants,  were 
appointed  judges,  with  full  power  to  acquit  or  to  condemn;  an 
attorney-general  was  named  to  carry  on  the  prosecution  in  the 
king's  name ;  counsellors  were  chosen  to  assist  the  prisoner  in  his 
defense;  and  clerks  were  ordained  to  record  the  proceedings  of 
court.  Before  this  strange  tribunal,  a  charge  was  exhibited  still 
more  amazing.  It  consisted  of  various  articles;  that  Atahualpa, 
though  a  bastard,  had  dispossessed  the  rightful  owner  of  the 
throne,  and  usurped  the  regal  power ;  that  he  had  put  his  brother 
and  lawful  sovereign  to  death  ;  that  he  was  an  idolater,  and  had 
not  only  permitted  but  commanded  the  offering  of  human  sacri- 
fices ;  that  he  had  a  great  number  of  concubines ;  that  since  his 
imprisonment  he  had  wasted  and  embezzled  the  royal  treasures, 
which  now  belonged  of  right  to  the  conquerors ;  that  he  had  incited 
his  subjects  to  take  arms  against  the  Spaniards.  On  these  heads  of 
accusation,  some  of  which  are  so  ludicrous,  others  so  absurd,  that 
the  effrontery  of  Pizarro,  in  making  them  the  foundation  of  a 
serious  procedure,  is  not  less  surprising  than  his  injustice,  did  this 
strange  court  go  on  to  try  the  sovereign  of  a  great  empire,  over 
whom  it  had  no  jurisdiction.  With  respect  to  each  of  the  articles, 
witnesses  were  examined ;  but  as  they  delivered  their  evidence  in 
their  native  tongue,  Philippillo  had  it  in  his  power  to  give  their 
words    whatever  turn    best   suited  his  malevolent  intentions.     To 


MUMMY   HAND, 

ORNAMENTEO  WITH  GOLD 

RINGS  AND  BRACELETS 

FOUf^D  AT  CMIMBOTE. 


66a 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


judges  pre-determined  in  their  opinion,  the  evidence  appeared  suf- 
ficient. They  pronounced  Atahualpa  guilt}-,  and  condemned  him 
to  be  burnt  alive.  Friar  Valverde  prostituted  the  authority  of  his 
sacred  function  to  confirm  this  sentence,  and  by  his  signature  war- 
ranted it  to  be  just.  Astonished  at  his  fate,  Atahualpa  endeavored 
to  avert  it  by  tears,  by  promises,  and  by  entreaties  that  he  might 
be  sent  to  Spain,  where  a  monarch  would  be  the  arbiter  of  his  lot. 
But  pity  never  touched  the  unfeeling  heart  of  Pizzaro.     He  ordered 

him  to  be  led  instantly  to  execution ;  and 
what  added  to  the  bitterness  of  his  last 
moments,  the  same  monk  who  had  just 
ratified  his  doom,  offered  to  console,  and 
attempted  to  convert  him.  The  most 
powerful  argument  Valverde  employed  to 
prevail  with  him  to  embrace  the  Christian 
faith,  was  a  promise  of  mitigation  in  his 
punishment.  The  dread  of  a  cruel  death 
extorted  from  the  trembling  victim  a  de- 
sire of  receiving  baptism.  The  ceremony 
was  performed ;  and  Atahualpa,  instead  of 
being  burnt,  was  strangled  at  the  stake. 

Happily  for  the  credit  of  the  Spanish 
nation,  even  among  the  profligate  adven- 
turers which  it  sent  forth  to  conquer  and 
desolate  the  New  World,  there  were  persons 
who  retained  some  tincture  of  the  Castilian 
generosity  and  honor.  Though,  before  the 
trial  of  Atahualpa,  Ferdinand  Pizarro  had 
set  out  for  Spain,  and  Soto  was  sent  on  a 
separate  command  at  a  distance  from  Caxa- 
malca,  this  odious  transaction  was  not  carried  on  without  censure  and 
opposition.  Several  officers,  and  among  those  some  of  the  greatest 
reputation  and  most  respectable  families  in  the  service,  not  only  re- 
monstrated, but  protested  against  this  measure  of  their  general,  as 
disgraceful  to  their  country,  as  repugnant  to  every  maxim  of  equity, 
as  a  violation  of  public  faith,  and  a  usurpation  of  jurisdiction  over 
an  independent  monarch,  to  which  they  had  no  title.  But  their 
laudable  endeavors  were  vain.  Numbers,  and  the  opinion  of  such 
as  held  every  thing  to  be  lawful  which  they  deemed  advantageous, 


THE    HEARTLESS    PIZARRO   ORDERS   THE   UNFORTUNAT 
BE    LEO    INSTANTLY   TO    EXECUTION. 


THE   CONQUEST   OK    PERU. 


663 


prevailed.  History,  however,  records  even  the  unsuccessful  exer- 
tions of  virtue  with  applause  ;  and  the  Spanish  writers,  in  relating 
events  where  the  valor  of  their  nation  is  more  conspicuous  than  its 
humanity,  have  not  failed  to  preserve  the  names  of  those  who  made 
this  laudable  effort  to  save  their  country  from  the  infamy  of  having 
perpetrated  such  a  crime. 

On  the  death  of  Atahualpa,  Pizarro  invested  one  of  his  sons 
with  the  ensigns  of  royalty,  hoping  that  a  young  man  without 
experience  might  prove  a  more 
passive  instrument  in  his  hands 
than  an  ambitious  monarch,  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  independ- 
ent command.  '  The  people  of 
Cuzco,  and  the  adjacent  country, 
acknowledged  Manco  Capac,  a 
brother  of  Huascar,  as  Inca.  But 
neither  possessed  the  authority 
which  belonged  to  a  sovereign  of  • 
Peru.  The  violent  convulsions 
into  which  the  empire  had  been 
thrown,  first  by  the  civil  war  be- 
tween the  two  brothers,  and  then 
by  the  invasion  of  the  Spaniards, 
had  not  only  deranged  the  order 
of  the  Peruvian  government,  but 
almost  dissolved  its  frame.  When 
they  beheld  their  monarch  a  cap- 
tive in  the  power  of  strangers,  and 
at  last  suffering  an  ignominious 
death,  the  people  in  several  prov- 
inces, as  if  they  had  been  set  free  from  every  restraint  of  law  and 
decency,  broke  into  the  most  licentious  excesses.  So  many  de- 
scendants of  the  Sun,  after  being  treated  with  the  utmost  indig- 
nity, had  been  cut  off  by  Atahualpa,  that  not  only  their  influence 
in  the  state  diminished  with  their  number,  but  the  accustomed 
reverence  for  that  sacred  race  sensibly  decreased.  In  consequence 
of  this  state  of  things,  ambitious  men  in  different  parts  of  the 
empire  aspired  to  independent  authority,  and  usurped  jurisdiction 
to  which  they  had  no  title.     The  general  who  commanded  for  Ata- 


INTERIOR   OF   THE   TEMPLE   OF   THE   SUN    OURING   THE   LATER   REIGNS   OF 
THE   INCAS. 

The  Temple,  known  also  by  the  name  of  Coricancha,  or  "the  place  of 
gold,''  consisted  of  a  principal  building  and  several  chapels,  and  inferior  edi- 
fices, covering  a  large  extent  of  ground  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Cuzco. 
It  was  substantially  built,  though  thatched  with  straw,  like  most  of  the  Inca 
buildings.  The  interior  of  the  Temple  was  the  most  worthy  of  admiration. 
It  was  literally  a  mine  of  gold.  On  the  western  wall  was  emblazoned  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  deity  (the  sun),  consisting  of  a  human  countenance,  look- 
ing forth  from  amidst  innumerable  rays  of  light,  which  emanated  from  it  in 
every  direction,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  sun  is  often  personified  with  us. 
The  figure  was  engraved  on  a  massive  plate  of  gold  of  enormous  dimensions, 
thickly  powdered  with  emeralds  and  precious  stones.  The  cornices,  which 
surrounded  the  walls  of  the  sanctuary,  were  of  the  same  costly  material  ;  and 
a  broad  belt  or  frieze  of  gold,  let  into  the  stonework,  encompassed  the  whole 
exterior  of  the  edifice.  The  bodies  of  the  deceased  Incas  and  Coyas,  after 
being  skillfully  embalmed,  were  removed  to  this  sanctuary,  clothed  in  the 
princely  attire  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  wear,  placed  on  chairs  of 
gold,  their  heads  inclined  downward,  their  hands  placidly  crossed  over  their 
bosoms. — Prescott,   Conquest,    I'ol.   /. 


664 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


hualpa  in  Quito,  seized  the  brother  and  children  of  his  master,  put 
them  to  a  cruel  death,  and,  disclaiming  any  connection  with  either 
Inca,  endeavored  to  establish  a  separate  kingdom  for  himself. 

The  Spaniards,  with  pleasure,  beheld  the  spirit  of  discord  dif- 
fusing itself,  and  the  vigor  of  government  relaxing  among  the 
Peruvians.  They  considered  those  disorders  as  symptoms  of  a 
state  hastening  towards  its  dissolution.  Pizarro  no  longer  hesi- 
tated to  advance  towards  Cuzco,  and  he  had  received  such  consider- 
able reinforcements,  that  he  could  venture,  with  little  danger,  to 
penetrate  so  far  into  the  interior  part  of  the  country.  The  account 
of  the  wealth  acquired  at  Caxamalca  operated  as  he  had  foreseen. 
No  sooner  did  his  brother  Ferdinand,  with  the  officers  and  soldiers, 
to  whom  he  had  given  their  discharge  after  the  partition  of  the 

Inca's  ransom,  arrive  at  Panama,  and 
display  their  riches  in  the  view  of  their 
astonished  countrymen,  than  fame 
spread  the  account  with  such  exaggera- 
tion •  through  all  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments on  the  South  Sea,  that  the  gov- 
ernors of  Guatemala,  Panama,  and  Nica- 
ragua, could  hardly  restrain  the  people 
under  their  jurisdiction,  from  abandon- 
ing their  possessions,  and  crowding  to 
that  inexhaustible  source  of  wealth 
of  the  temple  which  seemed  to  be  opened  in  Peru. 
In  spite  of  every  check  and  regula- 
tion, such  numbers  resorted  thither,  that  Pizarro  began  his  march 
at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men,  after  leaving  a  considerable 
garrison  in  St.  Michael,  under  the  command  of  Benalcazar.  The 
Peruvians  had  assembled  some  large  bodies  of  troops  to  oppose 
his  progress.  Several  fierce  encounters  happened.  But  they  ter- 
minated like  all  the  actions  in  America;  a  few  Spaniards  were 
killed  or  wounded ;  the  natives  were  put  to  flight  with  incredible 
slaughter.  At  length  Pizarro  forced  his  way  to  Cuzco,  and  took 
quiet  possession  of  that  capital.  The  riches  found  there,  even 
after  all  that  the  natives  had  carried  off  and  concealed,  either 
from  a  superstitious  veneration  for  the  ornaments  of  their  temples, 
or  out  of  hatred  to  their  rapacious  conquerors,  exceeded  in  value 
what  had  been  received  as  Atahualpa's  ransom.     But  as  the  Span- 


CONVENT   OF    SAN    DOMINGO.      ERECTED    OVER   THE    RUINS 
OF    THE    SUN,    AT   CUZCO. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


665 


iards  were  now  accustomed  to  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and  it 
came  to  be  parceled  out  among  a  greater  number  of  adventurers,  this 
dividend  did  not  excite  the  same  surprise,  either  from  novelty,  or 
the  largeness  of  the  sum  that  fell  to  the  share  of  each  individual. 

During  the  march  to  Cuzco,  that  son  of  Atahualpa  whom  Pi- 
zarro  treated  as  Iuca,  died ;  and  as  the  Spaniards  substituted  no 
person  in  his  place,  the  title  of  Manco  Capac  seems  to  have  been 
universally  recognized. 


BRANCHES   OF   THE    CINCHONA    LANCIFOLIA. 

Cinchona,  Peruvian  or  Jesuit's  bark,  named  in  honor  of  the  countess 
of  Chinchon,  the  wife  of  a  Viceroy  of  Peru,  who  having  been  herself 
cured  thereby,  is  said  to  have  first  carried  the  bark  to  Europe,  where 
she  used  it  successfully  in  the  cure  of  intermittent  fever  about  1640. 
Quinia  is  its  most  important  alkaloid.  Sulphate  of  Quinia,  or  more 
properly  the  disulphate,  is  the  medicine  commonly  known  as  quinine. 


37 


MEAD  OF  A  MAN  AT  CABANA. 


GRANITE  HEAD,   PASHASH. 

PERUVIAN    SCULPTURE. 

FROM    CH.    WIENER  S    PERU    ANO    BOLIVIA. 


GRANITE  HEAD,  PASHASH. 


CHAPTER    LXVIII. 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  QUITO.     ALVARADO'S    EXPEDITION.      ALMAGRO'S    INVASION   OF   CHILI. 


HILE  his  fellow-soldiers  were  thus 
Zn  employed,  Benalcazar,  governor  of 
St.  Michael,  an  able  and  enterprising 
officer,  was  ashamed  of  remaining  in- 
active, and  impatient  to  have  his  name 
distinguished  among  the  discoverers 
and  conquerors  of  the  New  World.  The 
seasonable  arrival  of  a  fresh  body  of  re- 
cruits from  Panama  and  Nicaragua  put  it  in  his 
power  to  gratify  this  passion.  Leaving  a  sufficient  force 
to  protect  the  infant  settlement  intrusted  to  his  care,  he 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rest,  and  set  out  to  attempt 
the  reduction  of  Quito,  where,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
natives,  Atahualpa  had  left  the  greatest  part  of  his  treasure. 
Notwithstanding  the  distance  of  that  city  from  St.  Michael,  the 
difficulty  of  marching  through  a  mountainous  country  covered  with 
woods,  and  the  frequent  and  fierce  attacks  of  the  best  troops  in 
Peru  commanded  by  a  skillful  leader,  the  valor,  good  conduct,  and 
perseverance  of  Benalcazar  surmounted  every  obstacle,  and  he  en- 
tered Quito  with  his  victorious  troops.  But  they  met  with  a  cruel 
mortification  there.  The  natives,  now  acquainted  to  their  sorrow 
with  the  predominant  passion  of  their  invaders,  and  knowing  how 
to  disappoint  it,  had  carried  off  all  those  treasures,  the  prospect  of 


(666) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


667 


which  had  prompted  them  to  undertake  this  arduous  expedition, 
and  had  supported  them  under  all  the  dangers  and  hardships 
wherewith  they  had  to  struggle  in  carrying  it  on. 

Benalcazar  was  not  the  only  Spanish  leader  who  attacked  the 
kingdom  of  Quito.  The  fame  of  its  riches  attracted  a  more  power- 
ful enemy.  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  who  had  distinguished  himself  so 
eminently  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  having  obtained  the  govern 
ment  of  Guatemala  as  a  recompense  for  his  valor,  soon  became  dis- 
gusted with  a  life  of  uniform  tranquillity,  and  longed  to  be  again 
engaged  in  the  bustle  of  military  service.  The  glory  and  wealth 
acquired  by  the  conquerors  of 
Peru  heightened  this  passion, 
and  gave  it  a  determined  di- 
rection. Believing,  or  pre- 
tending to  believe,  that  the 
kingdom  of  Quito  did  not  lie 
within  the  limits  of  the  prov- 
ince allotted  to  Pizarro,  he 
resolved  to  invade  it.  The 
high  reputation  of  the  com- 
mander allured  volunteers 
from  every  quarter.  He  em- 
barked with  five  hundred 
men,  of  whom  above  two 
hundred  were  of  such  dis- 
tinction as  to  serve  on  horse- 
back. He  landed  at  Puerto 
Viejo,  and  without  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  country,  or 
proper  guides  to  conduct  him, 
attempted  to  march  directly 
to  Quito,  by  following  the 
course  of  the  river  Guya- 
quil,  and  crossing  the  ridge 
of  the  Andes  towards  its  head.  But  in  this 
route,  one  of  the  most  impracticable  in  all 
America,  his  troops  endured  such  fatigue  in  forcing  their 
way  through  forests  and  marshes  on  the  low  grounds,  . 
and    suffered  so    much  from  excessive  cold  when  they  be-     •' 


THE  EXCESSIVE  COLO  REIGNING  SUPREME  IN  THE 

HIGH  LATITUDES  OF  THE  ANDES,  NEARLY 

ANNIHILATES  ALVARADO'S  ARMY. 


668  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

gan  to  ascend  the  mountains,  that  before  they  reached  the  plain  of 
Quito,  a  fifth  part  of  the  men  and  half  their  horses  died,  and  the 
rest  were  so  much  dispirited  and  worn  out,  as  to  be  almost  unfit 
for  service.  There  they  met  with  a  body,  not  of  Indians,  but  of 
Spaniards,  drawn  in  hostile  array  against  them.  Pizarro  having 
received  an  account  of  Alvarado's  armament,  had  detached  Almagro 
with  some  troops  to  oppose  this  formidable  invader  of  his  jurisdic- 
tion ;  and  these  were  joined  by  Benalcazar  and  his  victorious  party. 
Alvarado,  though  surprised  at  the  sight  of  enemies  whom  he  did 
not  expect,  advanced  boldly  to  the  charge.  But,  by  the  interposi- 
tion of  some  moderate  men  in  each  party,  an  amicable  accommo- 
dation took  place  ;  and  the  fatal  period  when  Spaniards  suspended 
their  conquests  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  coun- 
trymen, was  postponed  a  few  years.  Alvarado  engaged  to  return 
to  his  government,  upon  Almagro's  paying  him  a  hundred  thousand 
pesos  to  defray  the  expense  of  his  armament.  Most  of  his  fol- 
lowers remained  in  the  country;  and  an  expedition,  which  threat- 
ened Pizarro  and  his  colony  with  ruin,  contributed  to  augment  its 
strength. 

1534].  By  this  time  Ferdinand  Pizarro  had  landed  in  Spain. 
The  immense  quantities  of  gold  and  silver  which  he  imported, 
filled  the  kingdom  with  no  less  astonishment  than  they  had  ex- 
cited in  Panama  and  the  adjacent  provinces.  Pizarro  was  received 
by  the  emperor  with  the  attention  due  to  the  bearer  of  a  present 
so  rich,  as  to  exceed  any  idea  which  the  Spaniards  had  formed  con- 
cerning the  value  of  their  acquisitions  in  America,  even  after  they 
had  been  ten  years  masters  of  Mexico.  In  recompense  of  his 
brother's  services,  his  authority  was  confirmed  with  new  powers 
and  privileges,  and  the  addition  of  seventy  leagues,  extending 
along  the  coast,  to  the  southward  of  the  territory  granted  in  his 
former  patent.  Almagro  received  the  honors  which  he  had  so  long 
desired.  The  title  of  Adelantado,  or  governor,  was  conferred  upon 
him,  with  jurisdiction  over  two  hundred  leagues  of  country, 
stretching  beyond  the  southern  limits  of  the  province  allotted  to 
Pizarro.  Ferdinand  himself  did  not  go  unrewarded.  He  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  military  order  of  St.  Jago,  a  distinction  always  ac- 
ceptable to  a  Spanish  gentleman,  and  soon  set  out  on  his  return  to 
Peru,  accompanied  by  many  persons  of  higher  rank  than  had  yet 
served  in  that  country. 


THK    CONQUEST    OF   PERU. 


669 


Some  account  of  his  negotiations  reached  Peru  before  he  ar- 
rived there  himself.  Almagro  no  sooner  learned  that  he  had  ob- 
tained the  royal  grant  of  an  independent  government,  than  pre- 
tending that  Cuzco,  the  imperial  residence  of  the  Incas,  lay  within 
its  boundaries,  he  attempted  to  render  himself  master  of  that  im- 
portant station.  Juan  and  Gonzales  Pizarro  prepared  to  oppose 
him.  Each  of  the  contending  parties  was  supported  by  powerful 
adherents,  and  the  dispute  was  on  the  point  of  being  terminated  by 
the  sword,  when  Francis  Pizarro  arrived  in  the  capital.  The  recon- 
ciliation between  him  and  Almagro  had  never  been  cordial.  The 
treachery  of  Pizarro  in  engrossing  to  himself  all  the  honors  and 
emoluments,  which  ought  to  have  been  divided  with  his  associate, 
was  always  present  in  both 
their  thoughts.  The  former, 
conscious  of  his  own  perfidy, 
did  not  expect  forgiveness ; 
the  latter,  feeling  that  he  had 
been  deceived,  was  impatient 
to  be  avenged;  and  though 
avarice  and  ambition  had  in- 
duced them  not  only  to  dissem- 
ble their  sentiments,  but  even 
to  act  in  concert  while  in  pur- 
suit of  wealth  and  power,  no 
sooner  did  they  obtain  posses- 
sion of  these,  than  the  same 
passions  which  had  formed  this 
temporary  union,  gave  rise  to  jealousy  and  discord.  To  each  of 
them  was  attached  a  small  band  of  interested  dependants,  who,  with 
the  malicious  art  peculiar  to  such  men,  heightened  their  suspicions, 
and  magnified  every  appearance  of  offense.  But  with  all  these  seeds 
of  enmity  in  their  minds,  and  thus  assiduously  cherished,  each  was 
so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  abilities  and  courage  of  his  rival, 
that  they  equally  dreaded  the  consequences  of  an  open  rupture.  The 
fortunate  arrival  of  Pizrrro  at  Cuzco,  and  the  address  mingled  with 
firmness  which  he  manifested  in  his  expostulations  with  Almagro 
and  his  partisans,  averted  that  evil  for  the  present.  A  new  recon- 
ciliation took  place;  the  chief  article  of  which  was,  that  Almagro 
should  attempt  the   conquest  of  Chili;  and   if  he  did  not  find  in 


CATHEDRAL    OF   CUZCO,    PLAZA    MAYOR. 
(from   A    PHOTOGRAPH.) 


670 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


that  province  an  establishment  adequate  to  his  merit  and  expecta- 
tions, Pizarro,  by  way  of  indemnification,  should  yield  up  to  him  a 
part  of  Peru.  This  new  agreement,  though  confirmed  [June  12] 
with  the  same  sacred  solemities  as  their  first  contract,  was  observed 
with  as  little  fidelity. 

Soon  after   he  concluded  this   important  transaction,  Pizarro 

marched  back  to  the  countries  on  the 


BRIDGE  OVER  THE  RIVER  PACHACHACA,   MADE  OF  THE  FIBRE  OF  THE  MAGUEY. 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^''-^^^^fi    seacoast;  and   as  he  now  enjoyed  an 
"yssfeSi  :    interval    of   tranquillity,   undisturbed 

by    any   enemy,    either    Spaniard    or 
Indian,  he  applied  himself  with  that 
persevering  ardor  which  distinguishes 
his    character,    to    introduce    a    form 
of  regular  government  into    the    ex- 
tensive   provinces  subject    to  his   au- 
thority.      Though     ill     qualified    by 
his    education   to  enter  into  any  dis- 
quisition   concerning    the    principles 
of  civil  policy,  and  little  accustomed 
by  his    former  habits  of  life   to    attend  to  its  arrangements,  his 
natural  sagacity  supplied  the  want   both    of  science    and  experi- 
ence.    He  distributed   the   country  into  various  districts;   he  ap- 
pointed  proper  magistrates  to  preside  in   each  ;    and  established 
regulations  concerning  the  administration  of  justice,  the  collection 
of  the  royal  revenue,  the  working  of  the  mines,  and  the  treatment 
of  the  Indians,  extremely  simple,  but  well   calculated  to  promote 
the  public  prosperity.     But  though,  for  the  present,  he  adapted  his 
plan  to  the  infant  state  of  his  colony,  his  aspiring  mind  looked  for- 
ward to  its  future  grandeur.     He 
considered  himself  as  laying  the 
foundation  of  a  great  empire,  and 
deliberated  long,  and  with  much 
solicitude,  in  what  place  he  should 
fix  the  seat  of  government.  Cuzco, 
the  imperial  city  of  the  Incas,  was 
situated  in  a  corner  of  the  empire, 
above  four  hundred  miles  from  the 
sea,  and  much  further  from  Quito, 
a  province  of  whose  value  he  had 


THE   CATHEDRAL   »F   LIMA.       (FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH.) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


671 


formed  a  high  idea.  No  other  settlement  of  the  Peruvians  was  so 
considerable  as  to  merit  the  name  of  a  town,  or  to  allure  the  Span- 
iards to  fix  their  residence  in  it.  But,  in  marching  through  the  coun- 
try, Pizarro  had  been  struck  with  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  val- 
ley of  Rimac,  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  best  cultivated  in  Peru. 
There,  on  the  banks  of  a  small  river,  of  the  same  name  with  the 
vale  which  it  waters  and  enriches,  at  the  distance  of  six  miles  from 
Callao,  the  more  commodious  harbor  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  he 
founded  a  city  which  he  destined  to  be  the  capital  of  his  govern- 
ment [Jan.  18,  1535].  He  gave  it  the  name  of  Ciudad  de  los  Reyes, 
either  from  the  circumstance  of  having  laid  the  first  stone  at  that 
season  when  the  church  celebrates  the  festival  of  the  Three  Kings, 
or,  as  is  most  probable,  in  honor  of  Juana  and  Charles,  the  joint 
sovereigns  of  Castile.  This  name  it  still  retains  among  the  Span- 
iards, in  all  legal  and  formal  deeds  ;  but  it  is  better  known  to  for- 
eingers  by  that  of  Lima,  a  corruption  of  the  ancient  appellation 
of  the  valley  in  which  it  is  situated.  Under  his  inspection,  the 
buildings  advanced  with  such  rapidity,  that  it  soon  assumed 
the  form  of  a  city,  which,  by  a  magnificent  palace  that  he 
erected  for  himself,  and  by  the  stately  houses  built  by 
several  of  his  officers,  gave,  even  in  its  infancy,  some- 
indication  of  its  subsequent  grandeur. 

In  consequence  o.f  what  had  been  agreed  with  Pi 
arro,  Almagro   began   his  march  towards  Chili ;  and 
as    he  possessed  in   an  eminent   degree  the   virtues 


most  admired  by  soldiers,  boundless  liberality  and 
fearless  courage,  his  standard  was  followed  by 
five  hundred  and  seventy  men,  the  greatest 
body  of  Europeans  that  had  hitherto  been  as- 
sembled in  Peru.  From  impatience  to  finish 
the  expedition,  or  from  that  contempt  of  hard- 
ship and  danger  acquired  by  all  the  Spaniards 
who  had  served  long  in  America,  Almagro,  in- 
stead of  advancing  along  the  level  country  on 
the  coast,  chose  to  march  across  the  mountains 
by  a  route  that  was  shorter,  indeed,  but  almost 
impracticable.  In  this  attempt  his  troops 
were  exposed  to  every  calamity  which  men 
can  suffer,  from  fatigue,  from  famine,  and 


ALMAGRO  CROSSING  THE  CORDILLERAS  ON   MI6  MARCH   TO  CHILI. 


672 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


>«B!aw*fltf 


ARAUCANIANS;     ABORIGINAL     INHABITANTS    OF    CHILI. 


from  the  rigor  of  the  climate  in  those  elevated  regions  of  the 
torrid  zone,  where  the  degree  of  cold  is  hardly  inferior  to  what  is 
felt  within  the  polar  circle.  Many  of  them  perished ;  and  the 
survivors,  when  they  descended  into  the  fertile  plains  of  Chili,  had 
new  difficulties  to  encounter.  They  found  there  a  race  of  men 
very  different  from  the  people  of  Peru,  intrepid,  hardy,  independ- 
ent, and   in    their  bodily  constitution,  as  well   as   vigor  of  spirit, 

nearly  resembling  the  warlike  tribes  of  North 
America.  Though  filled  with  wonder  at  the 
first  appearance  of  the  Spaniards,  and  still 
more  astonished  at  the  operations  of  their 
cavalry  and  the  effects  of  their  firearms,  the 
Chilese  soon  recovered  so  far  from  their  sur- 
prise, as  not  only  to  defend  themselves  with 
obstinacy,  but  to  attack  their  new  enemies 
with  more  determined  fierceness  than  any 
American  nation  had  hitherto  discovered. 
The  Spaniards,  however,  continued  to  pene- 
trate into  the  country,  and  collected  some  considerable  quantities 
of  gold ;  but  were  so  far  from  thinking  of  making  any  settlement 
amidst  such  formidable  neighbors,  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  experi- 
ence and  valor  of  their  leader,  the  final  issue  of  the  expedition 
still  remained  extremely  dubious,  when  they  were  recalled  from  it 
by  an  unexpected  revolution  in  Peru.  The  causes  of  this  important 
event  I  shall  endeavor  to  trace  to  their  source. 

So  many  adventurers  had  flocked  to  Peru  from  every  Spanish 
colony  in  America,  and  all  with  such  high  expectations  of  accumu- 
lating independent  fortunes  at  once,  that,  to  men  possessed  with 
notions  so  extravagant,  any  mention  of  acquiring  wealth  gradually, 
and  by  schemes  of  patient  industry,  would  have  been  not  only  a 
disappointment,  but  an  insult.  Iu  order  to  find  occupation  for 
men  who  could  not  with  safety  be  allowed  to  remain  inactive,  Pi- 
zarro  encouraged  some  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  who  had 
lately  joined  him,  to  invade  different  provinces  of  the  empire, 
which  the  Spaniards  had  not  hitherto  visited.  Several  large  bodies 
were  formed  for  this  purpose ;  and  about  the  time  that  Almagro 
set  out  for  Chili,  they  marched  into  remote  districts  of  the  coun- 
try. No  sooner  did  Manco  Capac,  the  Inca,  observe  the  inconsid- 
erate security  of  the  Spaniards  in  thus  dispersing  their  troops,  and 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU.  673 

that  only  a  handful  of  soldiers  remained  at  Cuzco,  under  Juan  and 
Gonzalez  Pizarro,  than  he  thought  that  the  happy  period  was  at 
length  come  for  vindicating  his  own  rights,  for  avenging  the 
wrongs  of  his  country,  and  extirpating  its  oppressors.  Though 
strictly  watched  by  the  Spaniards,  who  allowed  him  to  reside  in 
the  palace  of  his  ancestors  at  Cuzco,  he  found  means  of  communi- 
cating his  scheme  to  the  persons  who  were  to  be  intrusted  with 
the  execution  of  it.  Among  people  accustomed  to  revere  their 
sovereign  as  a  divinity,  every  hint  of  his  will  carries  the  authority 
of  a  command;  and  they  themselves  were  now  convinced,  by  the 
daily  increase  in -the  number  of  their  invaders,  that  the  fond  hopes 
which  they  had  long  entertained  of  their  voluntary  departure  were 
altogether  vain.  All  perceived  that  a  vigorous  effort  of  the  whole 
nation  was  requisite  to  expel  them,  and  the  preparations  for  it 
were  carried  on  with  the  secrecy  and  silence  peculiar  to  Americans. 
After  some  unsuccessful  attempts  of  the  Inca  to  make  his 
escape,  Ferdinand  Pizarro  happening  to  arrive  at  that  time  in 
Cuzco  [1536],  he  obtained  permission  from  him  to  attend  a  great 
festival  which  was  to  be  celebrated  a  few  leagues  from  the  capital. 
Under  pretext  of  that  solemnity,  the  great  men  of  the  empire  were 
assembled.  As  soon  as  the  Inca  joined  them,  the  standard  of  war 
was  erected  ;  and  in  a  short  time  all  the  fighting  men,  from  the 
confines  of  Quito  to  the  frontier  of  Chili,  were  in  arms.  Many 
Spaniards,  living  securely  on  the  settlements  allotted  them,  were 
massacred.  Several  detachments,  as  they  marched  carelessly 
through  a  country  which  seemed  to  be  tamely  submissive  to  their 
dominion,  were  cut  off  to  a  man.  An  army  amounting  (if  we 
may  believe  the  Spanish  writers)  to  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  attacked  Cuzco,  which  the  three  brothers  endeavored  to 
defend  with  only  one  hundred  and  seventy  Spaniards.  An. 
other  formidable  body  invested  Lima,  and  kept  the  governor 
closely  shut  up.  There  was  no  longer  any  communication  be- 
tween the  two  cities  ;  the  numerous  forces  of  the  Peruvians  spread- 
ing over  the  country,  intercepted  every  messenger;  and  as  the 
parties  in  Cuzco  and  Lima  were  equally  unacquainted  with  the 
fate  of  their  countrymen,  each  boded  the  worst  concerning  the 
other,  and  imagined  that  they  themselves  were  the  only  persons 
who  had  survived  the  general  extinction  of  the  Spanish  name  in 
Peru. 


674 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


It  was  at  Cuzco,  where  the  Inca  commanded  in  person,  that 
the  Peruvians  made  their  chief  efforts.  During  nine  months  they 
carried  on  the  siege  with  incessant  ardor,  and  in  various  forms; 
and  though  they  displayed  not  the  same  undaunted  ferocity  as  the 
Mexican  warriors,  they  conducted  some  of  their  operations  in  a 
manner  which  discovered  greater  sagacity,  and  a  genius  more  sus- 
ceptible of  improvement  in  the  military  art.  They  not  only  ob- 
served the  advantages  which  the  Spaniards  derived  from  their  dis- 
cipline and  their  weapons,  but  they  endeavored  to  imitate  the  for- 
mer, and  turned  the  latter  against  them.  The}'  armed  a  consider- 
able bod}'  of  their  bravest  warriors  with  the  swords,  the  spears, 
and  bucklers,  which  they  had  taken  from  the  Spanish  soldiers 
whom  they  had  cut  off  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  These 
they  endeavored  to  marshal  in  that  regular  compact  order,  to  which 
experience  had  taught  them  that  the  Spaniards  were  indebted  for 
their  irresistible  force  in  action.  Some  appeared  in  the  field  with 
Spanish  muskets,  and  had  acquired  skill  and  resolution  enough  to 
use  them.  A  few  of  the  boldest,  among  whom  was  the  Inca  him- 
self, were  mounted  on  the  horses  which  they  had  taken,  and  ad- 
vanced briskly  to  the  charge  like  Spanish 
cavaliers,  with  their  lances  in  rest.  It  was 
more  by  their  numbers,  however,  than  by 
those  imperfect  essays  to  imitate  European 
arts  and  to  employ  European  arms,  that 
the  Peruvians  annoyed  the  Spaniards'.  In 
spite  of  the  valor,  heightened  by  despair, 
with  which  the  three  brothers  defended 
Cuzco,  Manco  Capac  recovered  possession  of 
one-half  of  his  capital,  besides  holding  the 
citadel  or  fortress  of  Sacsahuaman  ;  and  in 
their  various  efforts  to  drive  him  out  of  the 
latter,  the  Spaniards  lost  Juan  Pizarro,  the 
best  beloved  of  all  the  brothers,  together 
with  some  other  persons  of  note.  Worn 
out  with  the  fatigue  of  incessant  duty,  dis- 
tressed with  the  want  of  provisions,  and 
despairing  of  being  able  any  longer  to 
resist  an  enemy  whose  numbers  daily  in- 
creased, the  soldiers  became   impatient    to 


THE  ASSAULT  UPON  THE  INCA  FCRTRESS  OF   SACSAHUAMAN  BY 
SPANIARDS. 


o 


(675) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


677 


abandon  Cuzco,  in  hopes  either  of  joining  their  countrymen,  if 
any  of  them  yet  survived,  or  of  forcing  their  way  to  the  sea,  and 
finding  some  means  of  escaping  from  a  country  which  had 
been  so  fatal  to  the  Spanish  name.  While  the}'  were  brooding 
over  those  desponding  thoughts,  which  their  officers  labored  in 
vain  to  dispel,  Almagro  appeared  suddenly  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Cuzco. 

The  accounts  transmitted  to  Almagro  concerning  the  general  in- 
surrection of  the  Peruvians,  were  such  as  would  have  induced  him, 
without  hesitation,  to  relinquish  the  con- 
quest of  Chili,  and  hasten  to  the  aid  of  his 
countrymen.  But  in  this  resolution  he  was 
confirmed  by  a  motive  less  generous,  but 
more  interesting.  By  the  same*  messenger 
who  brought  him  intelligence  of  the  Inca's 
revolt,  he  received  the  royal  patent  creating 
him  governor  of  Chili,  and  defining  the 
limits  of  his  jurisdiction.  Upon  considering 
the  tenor  of  it,  he  deemed  it  manifest 
beyond  contradiction,  that  Cuzco  lay  within 
the  boundaries  of  his  government,  and  he 
was  equally  solicitous  to  prevent  the  Peru- 
vians from  recovering  possession  of  their 
capital,  and  to  wrest  it  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  Pizarros.  From  impatience  to  accomp- 
lish both,  he  .ventured  to  return  by  a  new 
route;  and  in  marching  through  the  sandy 
plains  on  the  coast,  he  suffered  from  heat 
and  drought,  calamities  of  a  new  species 
hardly  inferior  to  those  in  which  he  had  been  involved  by  cold  and 
famine  on  the  summits  of  the  Andes. 

1537.]  His  arrival  at  Cuzco  was  at  a  critical  moment.  The  Span- 
iards and  Peruvians  fixed  their  eyes  upon  him  with  equal  solicitude. 
The  former,  as  he  did  not  study  to  conceal  his  pretensions,  were  at 
a  loss  whether  to  welcome  him  as  a  deliverer,  or  to  take  precautions 
against  him  as  an  enemy.  The  latter,  knowing  the  points  in  con- 
test between  him  and  his  countrymen,  flattered  themselves  that 
they  had  more  to  hope  than  to  dread  from  his  operations.  Almagro 
himself,  unacquainted  with  the  detail  of  the  events  which  had  hap- 


CHURCH    OF    THE    JESUITS    AT    CUZCO.       (FROM    A     PHOTOGRAPH.) 


67S 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


SCULPTURE    FROM    THE    INCA    GATE   AT   CUZCO. 


pened  in  his  absence,  and  solicitous  to  learn  the  precise  posture  of 
affairs,  advanced  toward  the  capital  slowly,  and  with  great  circum- 
spection. Various  negotiations  with  both  parties  were  set  on  foot. 
The  Inca  conducted  them  on  his  part  with  much  address.  At  first 
he  endeavored  to  gain  the  friendship  of  Almagro  ;  and  after  many 
fruitless  overtures,  despairing  of  any  cordial 
union  with  a  Spaniard,  he  attacked  him  by  sur- 
prise with  a  numerous  body  of  chosen  troops. 
But  the  Spanish  discipline  and  valor  main- 
tained their  wonted  superiority.  The  Peru- 
vians were  repulsed  with  such  slaughter,  that  a 
great  part  of  their  army  dispersed,  and  Al- 
magro proceeded  to  the  gates  of  Cuzco  without 
interruption. 

The  Pizarros,  as  they  had  no  longer  to 
make  head  against  the  Peruvians,  directed  all 
their  attention  towards  their  new  enemy,  and 
took  measures  to  obstruct  his  entry  into  the 
capital.  Prudence,  however,  restrained  both 
parties  for  some  time  from  turning  their  arms 
against  one  another,  while  surrounded  by  com- 
mon enemies,  who  would  rejoice  in  the  mutual 
slaughter.  Different  schemes  of  accommoda- 
tion were  proposed.  Each  endeavored  to  de- 
ceive the  other,  or  to  corrupt  his  followers. 
The  generous,  open,  affable  temper  of  Alma- 
gro gained  many  adherents  of  the  Pizarros, 
who  were  disgusted  with  their  harsh,  domineer- 
ing manners.  Encouraged  by  this  defection,  he 
advanced  towards  the  city  by  night,  surprised 
the  sentinels  or  was  admitted  by  them,  and, 
investing  the  house  where  the  two  brothers 
resided,  compelled  them,  after  an  obstinate 
defense,  to  surrender  at  discretion.  Almagro's  claim  of  jurisdiction 
over  Cuzco  was  universally  acknowledged,  and  a  form  of  adminis- 
tration established  in  his  name. 

Two  or  three  persons  only  were  killed  in  this  first  act  of  civil 
hostility ;  but  it  was  soon  followed  by  scenes  more  bloody.  Fran- 
cisco Pizarro   having  dispersed  the  Peruvians  who  had   invested 


5CULPTURE    FROM    THE    INCA    GATE    AT   CUZCO. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


679 


ALONZO  OE  ALVARADO,  AT  THE  MEAD  OF  FIVE   HUNDRED   MEN,  CROSSES  A  PONTOON   BRIDGE 
ON  THE   ROAD  TO  CUZCO. 


Lima,  and  received  some  considerable  reinforcements  from  Hispau- 
iola  and  Nicaragua,  ordered  five  Hundred  men,  under  the  command 
of  Alonzo  de  Alvarado,  to 
march  to  Cuzco,  in  hopes  of 
relieving  his  brothers,  if  they 
and  their  garrison  were  not 
already  cut  off  by  the  Peru- 
vians. This  body,  which,-  at 
that  period  of  the  Spanish 
power  in  America,  must  be 
deemed  a  considerable  force, 
advanced  near  to  the  capital 
before  they  knew  that  they  had 
any  enemy  more  formidable 
than  Indians  to  encounter. 
It  was  with  astonishment  that 
they  beheld  their  countrymen  posted  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Abancay  to  oppose  their  progress.  Almagro,  however,  wished 
rather  to  gain  than  to  conquer  them,  and  by  bribes  and  promises 
endeavored  to  seduce  their  leader.  The  fidelity  of  Alvarado  re- 
mained unshaken ;  but  his  talents  for  war  were  not  equal  to  his 
virtue.  Almagro  amused  him  with  various  movements,  of  which  he 
did  not  comprehend  the  meaning,  while  a  large  detachment  of 
chosen  soldiers  passed  the  river  by  night  [July  12],  fell  upon  his 
camp  by  surprise,  broke  his  troops  before  they  had  time  to  form, 
and  took  him  prisoner,  together  with  his  principal 
officers. 

By  the  sudden  rout  of  this  body,  the  con-  g 

test   between  the  two  rivals  must  have  been 
decided,  if  Almagro   had   known   as  well  how 
to  improve   as  how  to  gain  a  victory. 
Rodrigo  Orgonez,  an  officer  of  great     >•$#£,&$$ 
abilities,  who  having  served  under  the 
Constable  Bourbon,   when  he  led  the 
imperial    army    to    Rome,    had    been 
accustomed  to  bold  and  decisive  meas- 
ures, advised  him  instantly    to    issue 
orders    for   putting    to   death    Ferdi- 
nand and  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  Alvarado, 


ALVARADO   TAKEN    PRISONER    8Y    THE  TROOPS    OF   ALMAGRO. 


68o  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

and  a  few  other  persons  whom  he  could  not  hope  to  gain,  and  to 
march  directly  with  his  victorious  troops  to  Lima,  before  the  gov- 
ernor had  time  to  prepare  for  his  defense.  But  Almagro,  though 
he  discerned  at  once  the  utility  of  the  counsel,  and  though  he  had 
courage  to  have  carried  it  into  execution,  suffered  himself  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  sentiments  unlike  those  of  a  soldier  of  fortune  grown 
old  in  service,  and  by  scruples  which  suited  not  the  chief  of  a  party 
who  had  drawn  his  sword  in  civil  war.  Feelings  of  humanity  re- 
strained him  from  shedding  the  blood  of  his  opponents ;  and  the 
dread  of  being  deemed  a  rebel,  deterred  him  from  entering  a  prov- 
ince which  the  King  had  allotted  to  another.  Though  he  knew 
that  arms  must  terminate  the  dispute  between  him  and  Pizarro,  and 
resolved  not  to  shun  that  mode  of  decision  ;  yet,  with  a  timid  deli- 
cacy, preposterous  at  such  a  juncture,  he  was  so  solicitous  that  his 
rival  should  be  considered  as  the  aggressor,  that  he  marched  quietly 
back  to  Cuzco,  to  wait  his  approach. 


ERYTHR0XY10N    COCA,    OR    PRESCOTT'S    ERYTHROXYLUM    PERUVIANUM  ;    THE    CUC* 
OF    THE    NATIVES. 

It  is  valued  for  its  stimulating  narcotic  properties,  which  it  is  said  to  possess 
ti.*  ,Sreater  degree  than  opium,  tobacco,  or  any  other  vegetable  production. 
1  he  leaves  are  gathered  and  dried  in  the  sun,  and  are  chewed,  mixed  with  quick- 
lime, which  the  Peruvians  affirm  renders  its  flavor  sensible  to  the  taste.  The 
practice  of  chewing  the  leaf  is  attended  with  the  most  pernicious  consequences, 
producing  an  intoxication  like  opium.  Under  the  Inca  reign  it  is  said  to  have 
been  exclusively  reserved  for  the  nobles.  With  a  handful  of  roasted  corn 
imaize  and  a  small  supply  of  coca,  the  Indian  of  our  day  performs  his  weari- 
some journeys,  day  after  day,  without  fatigue,  or  at  least  without  complaint. 


OLD    PERUVIAN    SCULPTURE. 

HEAD   OF    A    MAN,   EATING   A    BALL   OF    COCA. 

GRAY     GRANITE.     FOUND   AT    CABANA. 


CHAPTER   LXIX. 


FRANCISCO   PIZARHO    PREPARES   FOR   WAR.      HIS    MARCH  TO    CUZCO.     DEFEAT  AND    EXECUTION 

OF  ALMAGRO.     VACA    DE    CASTRO    APPOINTED    GOVERNOR.      REMARKABLE 

EXPEDITION   OF   GONZALO   PIZARRO  AND    ORELLANA 


IZARRO  was  still  unacquainted  with  all 
the  interesting  events  which  had  happened 
near  Cuzco.  Accounts  of  Alm'agro's  return, 
of  the  loss  of  the  capital,  of  the  death  of 
one  brother,  of  the  imprisonment  of  the  other 
two,  and  of  the  defeat  of  Alvarado,  were  brought 
to  him  at  once.  Such  a  tide  of  misfortunes  almost 
overwhelmed  a  spirit  which  had  continued  firm  and 
erect  under  the  rudest  shocks  of  adversity.  But  the 
necessity  of  attending  to  his  own  safety,  as  well  as  the  desire  of 
revenge,  preserved  him  from  sinking  under  it.  He  took  measures 
for  both  with  his  wonted  sagacity.  As  he  had  the  command  of 
the  sea-coast,  and  expected  considerable  supplies  both  of  men 
and  military  stores,  it  was  no  less  his  interest  to  gain  time,  and 
to  avoid  an  action,  than  it  was  that  of  Almagro  to  precipitate 
operations,  and  bring  the  contest  to  a  speedy  issue.  He  had  re- 
course to  arts  which  he  had  formerly  practiced  with  success ;  and 
Almagro  was  again  weak  enough  to  suffer  himself  to  be  amused 
with  a  prospect  of  terminating  their  differences  by  some  amica- 
ble accommodation.  By  varying  his  overtures,  and  shifting  his 
ground  as  often  as  it  suited  his  purpose,  sometimes  seeming  to 
yield  to  every  thing  which  his  rival  could  desire,  and  then  re- 
tracting all  that  he  had  granted,  Pizarro  dexterously  protracted 
the  negotiation  to,  such  a  length,  that,  though  every  day  was  pre- 


(680 


682  THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 

cious  to  Almagro,  several  months  elapsed  without  coming  to 
any  final  agreement.  While  the  attention  of  Almagro,  and  of 
the  officers  with  whom  he  consulted,  was  occupied  in  detecting  and 
eluding  the  fraudulent  intentions  of  the  governor,  Gonzalo  Pizarro 
and  Alvarado  found  means  to  corrupt  the  soldiers  to  whose  custody 
they  were  committed,  and  not  only  made  their  escape  themselves, 
but  persuaded  sixty  of  the  men  who  formerly  guarded  them  to  ac- 
company their  flight.  Fortune  having  thus  delivered  one  of  his 
brothers,  the  governor  scrupled  not  at  one  act  of  perfidy  more  to 
procure  the  release  of  the  other.  He  proposed  that  every  point  in 
controversy  between  Almagro  and  himself  should  be  submitted  to 
the  decision  of  their  sovereign  ;  that  until  his  award  was  known, 
each  should  retain  undisturbed  possession  of  whatever  part  of  the 
country  he  now  occupied ;  that  Ferdinand  Pizarro  should  be  set  at 
liberty,  and  return  instantly  to  Spain,  together  with  the  officers 
whom  Almagro  purposed  to  send  thither  to  represent  the  justice 
of  his  claims.  Obvious  as  the  design  of  Pizarro  was  in  those 
propositions,  and  familiar  as  his  artifices  might  now  have  been  to 
his  opponent,  Almagro,  with  a  credulity  approaching  to  infatua- 
tion, relied  on  his  sincerity,  and  concluded  an  agreement  on  these 
terms. 

The  moment  that  Ferdinand  Pizarro  recovered  his  liberty,  the 
governor,  no  longer  fettered  in  his  operations  by  anxiety  about  his 
brother's  life,  threw  off  every  disguise  which  his  concern  for  it  had 
obliged  him  to  assume.  The  treaty  was  forgotten ,  pacific  and 
conciliating  measures  were  no  more  mentioned  ;  it  was  in  the  field, 
he  openly  declared,  and  not  in  the  cabinet ;  by  arms,  and  not  by 
negotiation, — that  it  must  now  be  determined  who  should  be  master 
of  Peru.  The  rapidity  of  his  preparations  suited  such  a  decisive 
resolution.  Seven  hundred  men  were  soon  ready  to  march  towards 
Cuzco.  The  command  of  these  was  given  to  his  two  brothers,  in 
whom  he  could  perfectly  confide  for  the  execution  of  his  most  vio- 
lent schemes,  as  they  were  urged  on,  not  only  by  the  enmity  flow- 
ing from  the  rivalship  between  their  family  and  Almagro,  but  ani-. 
mated  with  the  desire  of  vengeance,  excited  by  recollection  of  their 
own  recent  disgrace  and  sufferings.  After  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  cross  the  mountains  in  the  direct  road  between  Lima  and  Cuzco, 
they  marched  towards  the  south  along  the  coast  as  far  as  Nasca, 
and  then  turning  to  the  left,  penetrated  through  the  defiles  in  that 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  PERU.  683 

branch  of  the  Andes  which  lay  between  them  and  the  capital. 
Almagro,  instead  of  hearkening  to  some  of  his  officers,  who  ad- 
vised him  to  attempt  the  defense  of  those  difficult  passes,  waited 
the  approach  of  the  enemy  in  the  plain  of  Cuzco.  Two  reasons 
seem  to  have  induced  him  to  take  this  resolution.  His  followers 
amounted  hardly  to  five  hundred,  and  he  was  afraid  of  weakening 
such  a  feeble  body  by  sending  any  detachment  towards  the  mount- 
ains. His  cavalry  far  exceeded  that  of  the  adverse  party,  both  in 
number  and  discipline,  and  it  was  only  in  an  open  country  that  he 
could  avail  himself  of  that  advantage. 

The  Pizarros  advanced  without  any  obstruction,  but  what  arose 
from  the  nature  of  the  desert  and  horrid  regions  through  which 
they  inarched.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  plain,  both  factions 
were  equally  impatient  to  bring  this  long-protracted  contest  to  an 
issue.  Though  countrymen  and  friends,  the  subjects  of  the  same 
sovereign,  and  each  with  the  royal  standard  displayed ;  and  though 
they  beheld  the  mountains  that  surrounded  the  plain  in  which 
they  were  drawn  up,  covered  with  a  vast  multitude  of  Indians 
assembled  to  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  their  mutual  carnage,  and  pre- 
pared to  attack  whatever  party  remained  master  of  the  field ;  so 
fell  and  implacable  was  the  rancor  which  had  taken  possession  of 
every  breast,  that  not  one  pacific  counsel,  not  a  single  overture 
towards  accommodation  proceeded  from  either  side.  Unfortunately 
for  Almagro,  he  was  so  worn  out  with  the  fatigues  of  service,  to 
which  his  advanced  age  was  unequal,  that,  at  this  crisis  of  his  fate, 
he  could  not  exert  his  wonted  activity,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
commit  the  leading  of  his  troops  to  Orgofiez,  who,  though  an 
officer  of  great  merit,  did  not  possess  the  same  ascendant,  either 
over  the  spirit  or  affections  of  the  soldiers,  as  the  chief  whom  they 
had  long  been  accustomed  to  follow  and  revere. 

The  conflict  was  fierce,  and  maintained  by  each  party  with 
equal  courage  [April  26].  On  the  side  of  Almagro,  were  more 
veteran  soldiers,  and  a  larger  proportion  of  cavalry ;  but  these  were 
counterbalanced  by  Pizarro's  superiority  in  numbers,  and  by  two 
companies  of  well-disciplined  musketeers,  which,  on  receiving  an 
account  of  the  insurrection  of  the  Indians,  the  emperor  had  sent 
from  Spain.  As  the  use  of  firearms  was  not  frequent  among  the 
adventurers  in  America,  hastily  equipped  for  service,  at  their  own 
expense,  this  small  band  of  soldiers,  regularly  trained  °nd  armed, 

38 


6S4 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


was  a  novelty  in  Peru,  and  decided  the  fate  of  the  day.  Wherever 
it  advanced,  the  weight  of  a  heavy  and  well-sustained  fire  bore 
down  horse  and  foot  before  it ;  and  Orgonez,  while  he  endeav- 
ored to  rally  and  animate  his  troops,  having  received  a  danger- 
ous wound,  the  rout  became  general.  The  barbarity  of  the  con- 
querors stained  the  glory  which  they  acquired  by  this  complete 
victory.  The  violence  of  civil  rage  hurried  on  some  to  slaughter 
their  countrymen   with   indiscriminate    cruelty ;    the  meanness  of 

private  revenge  instigated  others 
to  single  out  individuals  as  the 
objects  of  their  vengeance.  Orgo- 
nez and  several  officers  of  distinc- 
tion were  massacred  in  cold  blood ; 
above  a  hundred  and  forty  soldiers 
fell  in  the  field ;  a  large  proportion, 
where  the  number  of  combatants 
was  few,  and  the  heat  of  the  contest 
soon  over.  Almagro,  though  so 
feeble  that  he  could  not  bear  the 
motion  of  a  horse,  had  insisted  on 
being  carried  in  a  litter  to  an  emi- 
nence which  overlooked  the  field 
of  battle.  From  thence,  in  the  ut- 
most agitation  of  mind,  he  viewed 
the  various  movements  of  both 
parties,  and,  at  last,  beheld  the  total 
defeat  of  his  own  troops,  with  all 
the  passionate  indignation  of  a 
veteran  leader  long  accustomed  to 
victory.  He  endeavored  to  save 
himself  by  flight,  but  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  guarded  with  the  strictest  vigilance. 

The  Indians,  instead  of  executing  the  resolution  which  they 
had  formed,  retired  quietly  after  the  battle  was  over;  and  in  the 
history  of  the  New  World,  there  is  not  a  more  striking  instance 
of  the  wonderful  ascendant  which  the  Spaniards  had  acquired  over 
its  inhabitants,  than  that,  after  seeing  one  of  the  contending 
parties  ruined  and  dispersed,  and  the  other  weakened  and  fatigued, 
they  had  not  the  courage  to  fall  upon  their  enemies,  when  fortune 


PI2ARRO'S  WELL-DISCIPLINED   6ATTALIONS  ACHIEVE  A    DECISIVE    VICTORY   OVER  THE 
VETERANS   OF   ALMAGRO. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  6S5 

presented  an    opportunity   of  attacking    them    with    such    advan- 
tage. 

Cuzco  was  pillaged  by  the  victorious  troops,  who  found  there 
a  considerable  booty,  consisting  partly  of  the  gleanings  of  the  In- 
dian treasures,  and  partly  of  the  wealth  amassed  by  their  antago- 
nists from  the  spoils  of  Peru  and  Chili.  But  so  far  did  this,  and 
whatever  the  bounty  of  their  leader  could  add  to  it,  fall  below  the 
high  ideas  of  the  recompense  which  they  conceived  to  be  due  to 
their  merit,  that  Ferdinand  Pizarro,  unable  to  gratify  such  ex- 
travagant expectations,  had  recourse  to  the  same  expedient  which  his 
brother  had  employed  on  a  similar  occasion,  and  endeavored  to 
find  occupation  for  this  turbulent  assuming  spirit,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent it  from  breaking  out  into  open  mutiny.  With  this  view,  he 
encouraged  his  most  active  officers  to  attempt  the  discovery  and 
reduction  of  various  provinces  which  had  not  hitherto  submitted 
to  the  Spaniards.  To  every  standard  erected  by  the  leaders. who 
undertook  any  of  those  new  expeditions,  volunteers  resorted  with 
the  ardor  and  hope  peculiar  to  the  age.  Several  of  Almagro's 
soldiers  joined  them,  and  thus  Pizarro  had  the  satisfaction  of  being 
delivered  both  from  the  importunity  of  his  discontented  friends, 
and  the  dread  of  his  ancient  enemies. 

Almagro  himself  remained  for  several  months  in  custody, 
under  all  the  anguish  of  suspense.  For  although  his  doom  was 
determined  by  the  Pizarros  from  the  moment  that  he  fell  .into 
their  hands,  prudence  constrained  them  to  defer  gratifying  their 
vengeance,  until  the  soldiers  who  had  served  under  him,  as  well  as 
several  of  their  own  followers,  in  whom  they  could  not  perfectly 
confide,  had  left  Cuzco.  As  soon  as  they  set  out  upon  their  differ- 
ent expeditions,  Almagro  was  impeached  of  treason,  formally  tried, 
and  condemned  to  die.  The  sentence 
astonished  him ;  and  though  he  had 
often  braved  death  with  undaunted 
spirit  in  the  field,  its  approach  under 
this  ignominious  form  appalled  him 
so  much,  that  he  had  recourse  to  abject 
supplications  unworthy  of  his  former 
fame.  He  besought  the  Pizarros  to  re- 
member the  ancient  friendship  between 
their  brother  and  him,  and  how  much 


ALMAGRO    APPALLED    WHEN    HEARING   SENTENCE   OF    DEATH    PRONOUNCEH 
AGAINST    HIM. 


686.  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

he  had  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  their  family;  he  reminded 
them  of  the  humanity  with  which,  in  opposition  to  the  repeated 
remonstrances  of  his  own  most  attached  friends,  he  had  spared  their 
lives  when  he  had  them  in  his  power;  he  conjured  them  to  pity  his 
age  and  infirmities,  and  to  suffer  him  to  pass  the  wretched  remain- 
der of  his  days  in  bewailing  his  crimes,  and  in  making  his  peace 
with  Heaven.  The  entreaties,  says  a  Spanish  historian,  of  a  man  so 
much  beloved,  touched  many  an  unfeeling  heart,  and  drew  tears  from 
many  a  stern  eye.  But  the  brothers  remained  inflexible.  As  soon 
as  Almagro  knew  his  fate  to  be  inevitable,  he  met  it  with  the  dig- 
nity and  fortitude  of  a  veteran.  He  was  strangled  in  prison,  and 
afterwards  publicly  beheaded.  He  suffered  in  the  seventy-fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  left  one  son  by  an  Indian  woman  of  Panama, 
whom,  though  at  that  time  a  prisoner  in  Lima,  he  named  as  suc- 
cessor to  his  government,  pursuant  to  a  power  which  the  emperor 
had  granted  him. 

1539.]  As,  during  the  civil  dissensions  in  Peru,  all  intercourse 
with  Spain  was  suspended,  the  detail  of  the  extraordinary  transac- 
tions there  did  not  soon  reach  the  court.  Unfortunately  for  the 
victorious  faction,  the  first  intelligence  was  brought  thither  by 
some  of  Almagro's  officers,  who  left  the  country  upon  the  ruin  of 
their  cause ;  and  they  related  what  had  happened,  with  every  cir- 
cumstance, unfavorable  to  Pizarro  and  his  brothers.  Their  ambi- 
tion, their  breach  of  the  most  solemn  engagements,  their  violence 
and  cruelty,  were  painted  with  all  the  malignity  and  exaggeration 
of  party-hatred.  Ferdinand  Pizarro,  who  arrived  soon  after,  and 
appeared  in  court  with  extraordinary  splendor,  endeavored  to  efface 
the  impression  which  their  accusations  had  made,  and  to  justify 
his  brother  and  himself  by  representing  Almagro  as  the  aggressor. 
The  emperor  and  his  ministers,  though  they  could  not  pronounce 
which  of  the  contending  factions  was  most  criminal,  clearly  dis. 
cerned  the  fatal  tendency  of  their  dissensions.  It  was  obvious,  that 
while  the  leaders,  intrusted  with  the  conduct  of  two  iufant  colo- 
nies, employed  the  arms  which  should  have  been  turned  against 
the  common  enemy,  in  destroying  one  another,  all  attention  to  the 
public  good  must  cease,  and  there  was  reason  to  dread  that  the 
Indians  might  improve  the  advantage  which  the  disunion  of  the 
Spaniards  presented  to  them,  and  extirpate  both  the  victors  and 
vanquished.     But   the   evil   was  more  apparent  than  the  remedy. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  687 

Where  the  information  which  had  been  received  was  so  defective  and 
suspicious,  and  the  scene  of  action  so  remote,  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible to  chalk  out  the  line  of  conduct  that  ought  to  be  followed; 
and  before  any  plan  that  should  be  approved  of  in  Spain  could  be 
carried  into  execution,  the  situation  of  the  parties,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  affairs,  might  alter  so  entirely  as  to  render  its  effects 
extremely  pernicious. 

Nothing,  therefore,  remained,  but  to  send  a  person  to  Peru, 
vested  with  extensive  and  discretionary  power,  who,  after  viewing 
deliberately  the  posture  of  affairs  with  his  own  eyes,  and  inquiring 
upon  the  spot  into  the  conduct  of  the  different  leaders,  should  be 
authorized  to  establish  the  government  in  that  form  which  he 
deemed  most  conducive  to  the  interest  of  the  parent  state,  and  the 
welfare  of  the  colony.  The  man  selected  for  this  important  charge 
was  Christoval  Vaca  de  Castro,  a  judge  in  the  court  of  royal  audi- 
ence at  Valladolid ;  and  his  abilities,  integrity,  and  firmness,  justi- 
fied the  choice.  His  instructions,  though  ample,  were  not  such  as 
to  fetter  him  in  his  operations.  According  to  the  different  aspect 
of  affairs,  he  had  power  to  take  upon  him  different  characters.  If 
he  found  the  governor  still  alive,  he  was  to  assume  only  the  title  of 
judge,  to  maintain  the  appearance  of  acting  in  concert  with  him,  and 
to  guard  against  giving  any  just  cause  of  offense  to  a  man  who  had 
merited  so  highly  of  his  country.  But  if  Pizarro  were  dead,  he  was 
intrusted  with  a  commission  that  he  might  then  produce,  by  which 
he  was  appointed  his  successor  in  the  government  of  Peru.  This 
attention  to  Pizarro,  however,  seems  to  have  flowed  rather  from 
dread  of  his  power  than  from  any  approbation  of  his  measures  ;  for, 
at  the  very  time  that  the  court  seemed  so  solicitous  not  to  irritate 
him,  his  brother  Ferdinand  was  arrested  at  Madrid,  and  confined  to 
a  prison,  where  he  remained  above  twenty  years. 

1540].  While  Vaca  de  Castro  was  preparing  for  his  voyage, 
events  of  great  moment  happened  in  Peru.  The  governor,  consid- 
ering himself,  upon  the  death  of  Almagro,  as  the  unrivalled  pos- 
sessor of  that  vast  empire,  proceeded  to  parcel  out  its  territories 
among  the  conquerors ;  and  had  this  division  been  made  with  any 
degree  of  impartiality,  the  extent  of  country  which  he  had  to  be- 
stow was  sufficient  to  have  gratified  his  friends,  and  to  have  gained 
his  enemies.  But  Pizarro  conducted  this  transaction,  not  with  the 
equity  and  candor  of  a  judge  attentive  to  discover  and  to  reward 


688 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


merit,  but  with  the  illiberal  spirit  of  a  party-leader.  Large  districts, 
in  parts  of  the  country  most  cultivated  and  populous,  were  set  apart 
as  his  own  property,  or  granted  to  his  brothers,  his  adherents,  and 
favorites.  To  others,  lots  less  valuable  and  inviting  were  assigned. 
The  followers  of  Almagro,  among  whom  were  many  of  the  (Orig- 
inal adventurers,  to  whose  valor  and  perseverance  Pizarro  was  in- 
debted for  his  success,  were  totally  excluded  from  any  portion  in 
those  lands,  towards  the  acquisition  of  which  they  had  contributed 
so  largely.  As  the  vanity  of  every  individual  set  an  immoderate 
value  upon  his  own  services,  and  the  idea  of  each 
concerning  the  recompense  due  to  them  rose  gradu- 
ally to  a  more  exorbitant  height  in  proportion  as 
their  conquests  extended,  all  who  were  disappointed 
in  their  expectations  exclaimed  loud- 
ly against  the  rapaciousness  and 
partiality  of  the  governor.  The 
partisans  of  Almagro  murmured  in 
secret,  and  meditated  revenge. 

Rapid  as  the  progress  of  the 
Spaniards  in  South  America  had 
been  since  Pizarro  landed  in  Peru, 
their  avidity  of  domin- 
ion was  not  yet  satisfied. 
The  officers  to  whom 
Ferdinand  Pizarro  gave 
the  command  of  different 
detachments,  penetrated  into  several  new  prov- 
inces ;  and  though  some  of  them  were  exposed 
to  great  hardships  in  the  cold  and  barren  regions  of  the  Andes,  and 
others  suffered  distress  not  inferior  amidst  the  woods  and  marshes 
of  the  plains,  they  made  discoveries  and  conquests  which  not  only 
extended  their  knowledge  of  the  country,  but  added  considerably  to 
the  territories  of  Spain  in  the  New  World.  Pedro  de  Valdivia 
resumed  Almagro's  scheme  of  invading  Chili,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  fortitude  of  the  natives  in  defending  their  possessions,  made 
such  progress  in  the  conquest  of  the  country,  that  he  founded  the 
city  of  St.  Jago,  and  gave  a  beginning  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Spanish  dominion  in  that  province.  But  of  all  the  enterprises  un- 
dertaken about  this  period,  that  of  Gonzalo  Pizarro  was  the  most 


A   CONQUISTAOOB. 
SPANISH  NAME  GIVEN  TO  THE  CONQUERORS  OF  THE  TIME 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    FERU. 


6S9 


remarkable.  The  governor,  who  seems  to  have  resolved  that  no 
person  in  Peru  should  possess  any  station  of  distinguished  emi- 
nence or  authority  but  those  of  his  own  family,  had  deprived  Benal- 
cazar,  the  conqueror  of  Quito,  of  his  command  in  that  kingdom, 
and  appointed  his  brother  Gonzalo  to  take  the  government  of  it. 
He  instructed  him  to  attempt  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  the 
country  to  the  east  of  the  Andes,  which,  according  to  the  informa- 
tion of  the  Indians,  abounded  with  cinnamon  and  other  valuable 
spices.  Gonzalo,  not  inferior  to  any  of  his  brothers  in  courage, 
and  no  less  ambitious  of  acquiring  distinction,  eagerly  engaged  in 
this  difficult  service.  He  set  out  from  Quito  at  the  head  of  three 
hundred  and  forty  soldiers,  near  one-half  of  whom  were  horsemen ; 
with  four  thousand  Indians  to  carry  their  provisions.  In  forcing 
their  way  through  the  defiles,  or  over  the  ridges  of  the  Andes,  ex- 
cessive cold  and  fatigue,  to  neither  of  which  they  were  accustomed, 
proved  fatal  to  the  greater  part  of  their  wretched  attendants.  The 
Spaniards,  though  more  robust,  and  inured  to  a  variety  of  climates, 
suffered  considerably,  and  lost  some  men ;  but  when  they  descended 
into  the  low  country,  their  distress  increased.  During  two  months 
it  rained  incessantly,  without  any  interval  of  fair  weather  long 
enough  to  dry  their  clothes.  The  inimense  plains  upon  which 
they  were  now  entering,  either  altogether  without  in-  ^t 
habitants,  or  occupied  by  the  rudest  and  least  indus- 
trious tribes  in  the  New  World,  yielded  little  subsist-  j 
ence.  They  could  not  advance  a  step  but  as  they  cut 
a  road  through  woods,  or  made  it  through  marshes. 
Such  incessant  toil,  and  continual  scarcity  of  food, 
seem  more  than  sufficient  to  have  exhausted  and  dis- 
pirited any  troops.  But  the  fortitude  and  persever- 
ance of  the  Spaniards  in  the  sixteenth  century  were 
insuperable.  Allured  by  frequent  but  false  accounts 
of  rich  countries  before  them,  they  persisted  in  strug- 
gling on,  until  they  reached  the  banks  of  the  Coca  or 
Napo,  one  of  the  large  rivers  whose  waters  pour  into 
the  Maragnon,  and  contribute  to  its  grandeur.  There, 
with  infinite  labor,  they  built  a  bark,  which  they  ex- 
pected would  prove  of  great  utility  in  conveying  them  over  rivers, 
in  procuring  provisions,  and  in  exploring  the  country.  This  was 
manned  with  fifty  soldiers,  under  the  command  of  Francis  Orellana, 


»^ks^- 


ABORIGINES    FROM    THE   NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  THE 
RIVER    NAPO. 


690  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

the  officer  next  in  rank  to  Pizarro.  The  stream  carried  them  down 
with  such  rapidity,  that  they  were  soon  far  ahead  of  their  country- 
men, who  followed  slowly  and  with  difficulty  by  land. 

At  this  distance  from  his  commander,  Orellana,  a  young  man 
of  an   aspiring  mind,  began   to   fancy   himself  independent ;   and 
transported  with  the  predominant  passion  of  the  age,  he  formed 
the  scheme  of  distinguishing  himself  as  a  discoverer,  by  following 
the  course  of  the  Maragnon  until  it  joined  the  ocean,  and  by  sur- 
veying the  vast  regions  through  which  it  flows.     This  scheme  of 
Orellana's  was  as  bold  as  it  was  treacherous.     For,  if  he  be  charge- 
able with  the  guilt  of  having  violated  his  duty  to  his  commander, 
and  with  having  abandoned  his  fellow-soldiers  in  a  pathless  desert 
where  they  had  hardly  any  hopes  of  success,  or  even  of  safety,  but 
what  were  founded  on  the  service  which  they  expected  from  the 
bark  ;  his  crime  is,  in  some  measure,  balanced  by  the  glory  of  hav- 
ing ventured   upon   a  navigation    of  near   two   thousand  leagues, 
through  unknown   nations,   in   a  vessel   hastily  constructed,  with 
green   timber,  and   by  very  unskillful   hands,  without  provisions, 
without  a  compass,  or  a  pilot.     But  his  courage  and  alacrity  sup- 
plied every  defect.     Committing  himself  fearlessly  to  the  guidance 
of  the  stream,  the  Napo   bore  him  along  to  the  south,  until  he 
reached  the  great  channel  of  the  Maragnon.     Turning  with  it  to- 
wards the  coast,  he  held  on  his  course  in  that  direction.     He  made 
frequent  descents  upon  both  sides  of  the  river,  sometimes  seizing 
by  force  of  arms  the  provisions  of  the  fierce  savages  seated  on  its 
banks ;   and  sometimes  procuring  a  supply  of  food  by  a  friendly 
intercourse    with    more    gentle    tribes.      After    a 
long    series    of    dangers,    which   he    encountered 
with  amazing  fortitude,  and  of  distresses,  which 
he    supported    with    no    less    magnanimity,    he 
reached  the  ocean,  where  new  perils  awaited  him. 
These    he   likewise   surmounted,    and    got  safely 
Siit^l|  to    the    Spanish    settlement     in    the    Island    of 
Cubagua;  from  thence  he  sailed  to  Spain.     The 
.azon  r,ver.  vanity    natural    to    travellers    who    visit    regions 

(FROM    A     PHOTOGRAPH. ^  „  ,  /-  1     •  1  1       j_1  C 

unknown  to  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  the  art  ot 
an  adventurer  solicitous  to  magnify  his  own  merit,  concurred  in 
prompting  him  to  mingle  an  extraordinary  proportion  of  the  mar- 
velous in    the    narrative  of   his  voyage.      He    pretended    to    have 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


691 


discovered  nations  so  rich,  that  the  roofs  of  their  temples  were 
covered  with  plates  of  gold  ;  and  described  a  republic  of  women  so 
warlike  and  powerful,  as  to  have  extended  their  dominion  over  a 
considerable  tract  of  the  fertile  plains  which  he  had  visited.  Ex- 
travagant as  those  tales  were,  they  gave  rise  to  an  opinion,  that  a 
region  abounding  with  gold,  distinguished  by  the  name  of  El  Do- 
rado, and  a  community  of  Amazons,  were  to  be  found  in  this  part 
of  the  world ;  and  such  is  the  propensity  of  mankind  to  believe 
what  is  wonderful,  that  it  has  been  slowly,  and  with  difficult}',  that 
reason  and  observation  have  exploded  those  fables.  The  voyage, 
however,  even  when  stripped  of  every  romantic  embellishment, 
deserves  to  be  recorded,  not  only  as  one  of  the  most  memorable 
occurrences  in  that  adventurous  age,  but  as  the  first  event  which 
led  to  any  certain  knowledge  of  the  extensive  countries  that  stretch 
eastward  from  the  Andes  to  the  ocean. 

No  words  can  describe  the  consternation  of  Pizarro,  when  he 
did  not  find  the  bark  at  the  confluence  of  the  Napo  and  Maragnon, 
where  he  had  ordered  Orellana  to  wait  for  him.  He  would  not 
allow  himself  to  suspect  that  a  man,  whom  he  had  intrusted  with 
such  an  important  command,  could  be  so  base  and  unfeeling  as 
to  desert  him  at  such  a  juncture.  But  imputing  his  absence  from 
the  place  of  rendezvous  to  some  unknown  accident,  he  advanced 
above  fifty  leagues  along  the  banks  of  the  Maragnon,  expecting 
every  moment  to  see  the  bark  appear  with  a  supply  of  provisions 
[1541].  At  length  he  came  up  with  an  officer  whom  Orellana 
had  left  to  perish  in  the  desert,  because  he  had 
the  courage  to  remonstrate  against  his  perfidy. 
From  him  he  learned  the  extent  of  Orellana's 
crime,  and  his  followers  perceived  at  once  their 
own  desperate  situation,  when  deprived  of  their 
only  resource.  The  spirit  of  the  stoutest-hearted 
veteran  sunk  within  him,  and  all  demanded  to  be 
led  back  instantly.  Pizarro,  though  he  assumed 
an  appearance  of  tranquillity,  did  not  oppose 
their  inclination.  But  he  was  now  twelve  hun- 
dred miles  from  Quito ;  and  in  that  long  march  the 
Spaniards  encountered  hardships  greater  than 
those  which  they  had  endured  in  their  progress 
outward,  without  the  alluring  hopes  which  then 


692 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


soothed  and  animated  them  under  their  sufferings.  Hunger  com- 
pelled them  to  feed  on  roots  and  berries,  to  eat  all  their  dogs  and 
horses,  to  devour  the  most  loathsome  reptiles,  and  even  to  gnaw 
the  leather  of  their  saddles  and  sword-belts.  Four  thousand  Indi- 
ans, and  two  hundred  and  ten  Spaniards,  perished  in  this  wild,  dis- 
astrous expedition,  which  continued  near  two  years ;  and  as  fifty 
men  were  aboard  the  bark  with  Orellana,  only  fourscore  got  back 
to  Quito.  These  were  naked  like  savages,  and  so  emaciated  with 
famine,  or  worn  out  with  fatigue,  that  they  had  more  the  appear- 
ance of  spectres  than  of  men. 


GONZALO    PIZARRO'S    DISASTROUS    EXPEDITION    IN    QUEST   OF 
THE    " EL    OOflADO." 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  LIMA,  WITH  THE    "  PLAZA   OE  HACHO  "  (  bULL    RING)    IN    THE    FOREGROUND. 
FROM  A  RECENT  PHOTOGRAPH. 


CHAPTER   LXX. 


DEATH    OF  FRANCISCO    PIZARBO.      ARRIVAL   OFVACA   DE    CASTRO.      LAS   CASAS    MOVES  THE 
EMPEROR   CHARLES  V.    TO  CONSIDER  THE  WELFARE  OF   HIS  INDIAN  SUBJECTS. 

UT,  instead  of  returning  to  enjoy  the  repose 
which  his  condition  required,  Pizarro,  on  enter- 
ing Quito,  received  accounts  of  a  fatal  event  that 
threatened  calamities  more  dreadfiri  to  him  than 
those  through  which  he  had  passed.  From  the 
time  that  his  brother  made  that  partial  division 
of  his  conquests  which  had  been  mentioned,  the 
adherents  of  Almagro,  considering  themselves  as 
proscribed  by  the  party  in  power,  no  longer  en- 
tertained any  hope  of  bettering  their  condition. 
Great  numbers  in  despair  resorted  to  Lima,  where 
the  house  of  young  Almagro  was  always  open  to 
them,  and  the  slender  portion  of  his  father's  fortune,  which  the 
governor  allowed  him  to  enjoy,  was  spent  in  affording  them  sub- 
sistence. The  warm  attachment  with  which  every  person  who  had 
served  under  the  elder  Almagro  devoted  himself  to  his  interests, 
was  quickly  transferred  to  his  son,  who  was  now  grown  up  to  the 
age  of  manhood,  and  possessed  all  the  qualities  which  captivate  the 
affections  of  soldiers.     Of  a  graceful  appearance,  dexterous  at  all 


(693) 


694  THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 

martial  exercises,  bold,  open,  generous,  he  seemed  to  be  formed  for 
command;  and  as  his  father,  conscious  of  his  own  inferiority  from 
the  total  want  of  education,  had  been  extremely  attentive  to  have 
him  instructed  in  every  science  becoming  a  gentleman ;  the  accom- 
plishments which  he  had  acquired  heightened  the  respect  of  his 
followers,  as  they  gave  him  distinction  and  eminence  among  illiter- 
ate adventurers.  In  this  young  man  the  Almagrians  ftrand  a  point 
of  union  which  they  wanted,  and,  looking  up  to  him  as  their  head, 
were  ready  to  undertake  anything  for  his  advancement.  Nor  was 
affection  for  Almagro  their  only  incitement ;  they  were  urged  on 
by  their  own  distresses.  Many  of  them,  destitute  of  common  nec- 
essaries, and  weary  of  loitering  away  life,  a  burden  to  their  chief, 
or  to  such  of  their  associates  as  had  saved  some  remnant  of  their 
fortune  from  pillage  and  confiscation,  longed  impatiently  for  an  oc- 
casion to  exert  their  activity  and  courage,  and  began  to  deliberate 
how  they  might  be  avenged  on  the  author  of  all  their  misery.  Their 
frequent  cabals  did  not  pass  unobserved ;  and  the  governor  was 
warned  to  be  on  his  guard  against  men  who  meditated  some  des- 
perate deed,  and  had  resolution  to  execute  it.  But  either  from  the 
native  intrepidity  of  his  mind,  or  from  contempt  of  persons  whose 
poverty  seemed  to  render  their  machinations  of  little  consequence, 
he  disregarded  the  admonitions  of  his  friends.  "Be  in  no  pain," 
said  he  carelessly,  "  about  my  life ;  it  is  perfectly  safe,  as  long  as 
every  man  in  Peru  knows  that  I  can  in  a  moment  cut  off  any  head 
which  dares  to  harbor  a  thought  against  it."  This  security  gave 
the  Almagrians  full  leisure  to  digest  and  ripen  every  part  of  their 
scheme  ;  and  Juan  de  Herrada,  an  officer  of  great  abilities,  who  had 
the  charge  of  Almagro's  education,  took  the  direction  of  their  con- 
sultations, with  all  the  zeal  which  this  connection  inspired,  and 
with  all  the  authority  which  the  ascendant  that  he  was  known  to 
have  over  the  mind  of  his  pupil  gave  him. 

On  Sunday,  the  twenty-sixth  of  June,  at  mid-day,  the  season 
of  tranquillity  and  repose  in  all  sultry  climates,  Herrada,  at  the 
head  of  eighteen  of  the  most  determined  conspirators,  sallied  out 
of  Almagro's  house  in  complete  armour  ;  and,  drawing  their  swords, 
as  they  advanced  hastily  towards  the  governor's  palace,  cried  out, . 
"Long  live  the  king,  but  let  the  tyrant  die!"  Their  associates, 
warned  of  their  motions  by  a  signal,  were  in  arms  at  different  sta- 
tions ready  to   support  them.     Though  Pizarro  was  usualty  sur- 


THK    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


695 


rounded  by  such  a  numerous  train  of  attendants  as  suited  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  most  opulent  subject  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived ; 
yet  as  he  was  just  risen 
from  table,  and  most  of  his 
domestics  had  retired  to 
their  own  apartments,  the 
conspirators  passed  through 
the  two  outer  courts  of  the 
palace  unobserved.  They 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the 
staircase,  before  a  page  in 
waiting  could  give  the 
alarm  to  his  master,  who 
was  conversing  with  a  few 
friends  in  a  large  hall.  The 
governor,  whose  steady 
mind  no  form  of  danger 
could  appal,  starting  u  p, 
called  for  arms,  and  com- 
manded Francisco  de 
Chaves  to  make  fast  the 
door.  But  that  officer,  who 
did  not  retain  so  much  pres- 
.  ence  of  mind  as  to  obey  this 
prudent  order,  running  to 
the  top  of  the  staircase, 
wildly  asked  the  conspira- 
tors what  they  meant,  and 
whither  they  were  going? 
Instead  of  answering,  they 
stabbed  him  to  the  heart, 
and  burst  into  the  hall. 
Some  of  the  persons  who 
were  there  threw  themselves 
from  the  windows ;  others 
attempted  to  fly ;  and  a  few  drawing  their  swords,  followed  their 
leader  into  an  inner  apartment.  The  conspirators,  animated  with 
having  the  object  of  their  vengeance  now  in  view,  rushed  forward 
after  them.      Pizarro,  with  no  other  arms  than  his  sword  and  buck- 


TME   MURDER  OF   PIZARRO. 


696  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

ler,  defended  the  entry ;  and,  supported  by  his  half-brother  Al- 
cantara, and  his  little  knot  of  friends,  he  maintained  the  unequal 
contest  with  intrepidity  worthy  of  his  past  exploits,  and  with  the 
vigor  of  a  youthful  combatant.  "Courage,"  cries  he,  "companions! 
we  are  yet  enough  to  make  those  traitors  repent  of  their  audacity." 
But  the  armor  of  the  conspirators  protected  them,  while  every 
thrust  they  made  took  effect.  Alcantara  fell  dead  at  his  brother's 
feet ;  his  other  defenders  were  mortally  wounded.  The  governor, 
so  weary  that  he  could  hardly  wield  his  sword,  and  no  longer  able 
to  parry  the  many  weapons  furiously  aimed  at  him,  received  a 
deadly  thrust  full  in  his  throat,  and  sunk  to  the  ground.  "  Jesu," 
exclaimed  the  dying  man,  and,  tracing  a  cross  with  his  finger  on  the 
bloody  floor,  he  bent  down  his  head  to  kiss  it,  when  a  stroke  more 
friendly  than  the  rest  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 

As  soon  as  he  was  slain,  the  assassins  ran  out  into  the  streets, 
and,  waving  their  bloody  swords,  proclaimed  the  death  of  the  tyrant. 
Above  two  hundred  of  their  associates  having  joined  them,  they 
conducted  young  Almagro  in  solemn  procession  through  the  city, 
and  assembling  the  magistrates  and  principal  citizens,  compelled 
them  to  acknowledge  him  as  lawful  successor  to  his  father  in  his 
government.  The  palace  of  Pizarro,  together  with  the  houses  of 
several  of  his  adherents,  were  pillaged  by  the  soldiers,  who  had  the 
satisfaction  at  once  of  being  avenged  on  their  enemies,  and  of  en- 
riching themselves  by  the  spoils  of  those  through  whose  hands  all 
the  wealth  of  Peru  had  passed. 

The  boldness  and  success  of  the  conspiracy,  as  well  as  the 
name  and  popular  qualities  of  Almagro,  drew  many  soldiers  to  his 
standard.  Every  adventurer  of  desperate  fortune,  all  who  were  dis- 
satisfied with  Pizarro,  and,  from  the  rapaciousness  of  his  govern- 
ment in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  the  number  of  malcontents  was 
considerable,  declared  without  hesitation  in  favor  of  Almagro,  and 
he  was  soon  at  the  head  of  eight  hundred  of  the  most  gallant  vet- 
erans in  Peru.  As  his  youth  and  inexperience  disqualified  him 
from  taking  the  command  of  them  himself,  he  appointed  Herrada 
to  act  as  general.  But  though  Almagro  speedily  collected  such  a 
respectable  force,  the  acquiescence  in  his  government  was  far  from 
being  general.  Pizarro  had  left  many  friends  to  whom  his  memory 
was  dear  ;  the  barbarous  assassination  of  a  man  to  whom  his  country 
was  so  highly  indebted,  filled  every   impartial  person  with  horror. 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


697 


The  ignominious  birth  of  Almagro,  as  well  as  the  doubtful  title  on 
which  he  founded  his  pretensions,  led  others  to  consider  him  as  a 
usurper.  The  officers  who  commanded  in  some  provinces  refused 
to  recognize  his  authority  until  it  was  confirmed  by  the  emperor. 
In  others,  particularly  at  Cuzco,  the  royal  standard  was  erected, 
and  preparations  were  begun  in  order  to  revenge  the  murder  of 
their  ancient  leader. 

Those  seeds  of  discord,  which  could  not  have  lain  long  dor- 
mant, acquired  great  vigor  and  activity  when  the  arrival  of  Vaca 
de  Castro  was  known.  After  a  long  and  disastrous  voyage,  he  was 
driven  by  stress  of  weather  into  a  small  harbor  in  the  province  of 
Popayan;  and  proceeding  from  thence  by  land,  after  a  journey  no 
less  tedious  than  difficult,  he  reached  Quito.  In  his  way  he  re- 
ceived accounts  of  Pizarro's  death,  and  of  the  events  which  fol- 
lowed upon  it.  He  immediately  produced  the  royal  commission 
appointing  him  governor  of  Peru,  with  the  same  privileges  and 
authority ;  and  his  jurisdiction  was  acknowledged  without  hesita- 
tion by  Benalcazar,  Adelantado  or  lieutenant-general  for  the  em- 
peror in  Popayan,  and  by  Pedro  de  Puelles,  who,  in  the  absence  of 
Gonzalo  Pizarro,  had  the  command  of  the  troops  left  in  Quito. 
Vaca  de  Castro  not  only  assumed  the  supreme  authority,  but 
showed  that  he  possessed  the  talents  which  the  exercise  of  it,  at 
that  juncture,  required.  By  his  influence  and  address  he  soon  as- 
sembled such  a  body  of  troops,  as  not  only  to  set  him  above  all 
fear  of  being  exposed  to  any  insult  from  the  adverse  party,  but 
enabled  him  to  advance  from  Quito  with  the  dignity  which  became 
his  character.  By  despatching  persons  of  confidence  to  the  differ- 
ent settlements  in  Peru  with  a  formal  notification  of  his 
arrival  and  of  his  commission,  he  communicated  to  his 
countrymen  the  royal  pleasure  with  respect  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.  By  private  emissaries,  he  excited 
such  officers  as  had  dis- 
covered their  disapproba- 
tion of  Almagro's  proceed- 
ings, to  manifest  their  duty 
to  their  sovereign  by  sup- 
porting the  person  honored 
with  his  commission. 
Those  measures  were  pro- 


THE   HUINS   OF   THE   INCA    PALACE   IN    LAKE   TITICACA. 


69S 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


ductive  of  great  effects.  Encouraged  by  the  approach  of  the  new 
governor,  or  prepared  by  his  machinations,  the  loyal  were  con- 
firmed in  their  principles,  and  avowed  them  with  greater  boldness ; 
the  timid  ventured  to  declare  their  sentiments ;  the  neutral  and 
wavering,  finding  it  necessary  to  choose  a  side,  began  to  lean  to 
that  which  now  appeared  to  be  the  safest  as  well  as  the  most  just. 
Almagro  observed  the  rapid  progress  of  this  spirit  of  disaffec- 
tion to  his  cause;  and  in  order  to  give  an  effectual  check  to  it  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  Vaca  de  Castro,  he  set  out  at  the  head  of  his 
troops  for  Cuzco  [1542],  where  the  most  considerable  body  of  op- 
ponents had  erected  the  royal  standard,  under  the  command  of 
Pedro  Alvarez  Holguin.  During  his  march  thither,  Herrada,  the 
skillful  guide  of  his  youth  and  of  his  counsels,  died ;  and  from 
that  time  his  measures  were  conspicuous  for  their  violence,  but 
concerted  with  little  sagacity,  and  executed  with  no  address.  Hol- 
guin, who,  with  forces  far  inferior  to  those  of  the  opposite  party, 
was  descending  towards  the  coast  at  the  very  time  that  Almagro 
was  on  his  way  to  Cuzco,  deceived  his  inexperienced  adversary  by 
a  very  simple  stratagem,  avoided  an  engagement,  and  effected  a 
junction  with  Alvarado,  an  officer  of  note,  who  had  been  the  first 
to  declare  against  Almagro  as   a   usurper. 

Soon  after,  Vaca  de  Castro  entered  their  camp  with  the  troops 
which  he  brought  from  Quito ;  and  erecting  the  royal  standard 
before  his  own  tent,  he  declared  that,  as  governor,  he  would  dis- 
charge in  person  all  the  func- 
tions of  general  of  their  com- 
bined forces.  Though  formed 
by  the  tenor  of  his  past  life  to 
the  habits  of  a  sedentary  and 
pacific  profession,  he  at  once 
assumed  the  activity  and  dis- 
covered the  decision  of  an  offi- 
cer long  accustomed  to  com- 
mand. Knowing  his  strength 
to  be  now  far  superior  to  that 
of  the  enemy,  he  was  impa- 
tient to  terminate  the  contest 
by  a  battle.  Nor  did  the  followers  of  Almagro,  who  had  no  hopes 
of  obtaining  a  pardon  for  a  crime  so  atrocious  as  the  murder  of  the 


ARTILLERY    IN    ACTION,   EARLY    PART   OF   THE    XVI.    CENTURY 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


i  m  19 


governor,  decline  that  mode  of  decision.  They  met  at  Chupaz 
[Sept.  16],  about  two  hundred  miles  from  Cuzco,  and  fought  with 
all  the  fierce  animosity  inspired  by  the  violence  of  civil  rage,  the 
rancor  of  private  enmity,  the  eagerness  of  revenge,  and  the  last 
efforts  of  despair.  Victory,  after  remaining  long  doubtful,  de- 
clared at  last  for  Vaca  de  Castro.  The  superior  number  of  his 
troops,  his  own  intrepidity,  and  the  martial  talents  of  Francisco 
de  Carvajal,  a  veteran  officer  formed  under  the  great  captain  in  the 
wars  of  Italy,  and  who,  on  that  day,  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
future  fame  in  Peru,  triumphed  over  the  bravery  of  his  opponents, 
though  led  on  by  young  Almagro  with  a  gallant  spirit  worthy  of  a 
better  cause,  and  deserving  another  fate.  The  carnage  was  great 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  the  combatants.  Many  of  the 
vanquished,  especially  such  as  were  conscious  that  they  might 
be  charged  with  being  accessory  to  the  assassination  of  Pizarro, 
rushing  on  the  swords  of  the  enemy,  chose  to  fall  like  soldiers 
rather  than  wait  an  ignominious  doom.  Of  fourteen  hundred 
men,  the  total  number  of  combatants  on  both  sides,  five  hundred 
lay  dead  on  the  field,  and  the  number  of  the  wounded  was  still 
greater. 

If  the  military  talents  displayed  by  Vaca  de  Castro,  both  in 
the  council  and  in  the  field,  surprised  the  adventurers  in  Peru, 
they  were  still  more  astonished  at  his  conduct  after  the  victory. 
As  he  was  by  nature  a  rigid  dispenser  of  justice,  and  persuaded 
that  it  required  examples  of  extraordinary  severity  to  restrain  the 
licentious  spirit  of  soldiers  so  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, he  proceeded  directly  to  try  his  prisoners  as  rebels. 
Forty  were  condemned  to  suffer  the  death  of 
traitors,  others  were  banished  from  Peru. 
Their  leader,  who  made  his  escape  from  the 
battle,  being  betrayed  by  some  of  his  offi- 
cers, was  publicly  beheaded  in  Cuzco;  and 
in  him  the  name  of  Almagro,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  party,  was  extinct. 

During  those  violent  convulsions  in 
Peru,  the  emperor  and  his  ministers  were 
intently  employed  in  preparing  regulations, 
by  which  they  hoped,  not  only  to  re-estab- 
lish tranquillity    there,  but    to    introduce  a 


39 


tCTnw»i«A  Sql 


EXECUTION    OF    OIEGO   ALMAGRO,  THE    YOUNGER,  AT   CU2CO,  BY 
ORDER   OF   VACA    DE    CASTRO. 


700  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

more  perfect  system  of  internal  policy  into  all  their  settlements 
in  the  New  World.  It  is  manifest  from  all  the  events  recorded 
in  the  history  of  America,  that,  rapid  and  extensive  as  the  Span- 
ish conquests  there  had  been,  they  were  not  carried  on  by  any 
regular  exertion  of  the  national  force,  but  by  the  occasional 
efforts  of  private  adventurers.  After  fitting  out  a  few  of  the 
first  armaments  for  discovering  new  regions,  the  court  of  Spain, 
during  the  busy  reigns  of  Ferdinand  and  of  Charles  V.,  the  former 
the  most  intriguing  prince  of  the  age,  and  the  latter  the  most 
ambitious,  was  encumbered  with  such  a  multiplicity  of  schemes, 
and  involved  in  war  with  so  many  nations  of  Europe,  that  it  had 
not  leisure  to  attend  to  distant  and  less  interesting  objects.  The 
care  of  prosecuting  discovery,  or  of  attempting  conquest,  was 
abandoned  to  individuals;  and  with  such  ardor  did  men  push  for- 
ward in  this  new  career,  on  which  novelty,  the  spirit  of  adventure, 
avarice,  ambition,  and  the  hope  of  meriting  heaven,  prompted 
them  with  combined  influence  to  enter,  that  in  less  than  half  a 
century  almost  the  whole  of  that  extensive  empire  which  Spain 
possessed  in  the  New  World  was  subjected  to  its  dominion.  As 
the  Spanish  court  contributed  nothing  towards  the  various  expedi- 
tions undertaken  in  America,  it  was  not  entitled  to  claim  much 
from  their  success.  The  sovereignty  of  the  conquered  provinces, 
with  the  fifth  of  the  gold  and  silver,  was  reserved  for  the  crown ; 
every  thing  else  was  seized  by  the  associates  in  each  expedition  as 
their  own  right.  The  plunder  of  the  countries  which  they  invaded 
served  to  indemnify  them  for  what  they  had  expended  in  equip- 
ping themselves  for  the  service,  and  the  conquered  territory  was 
divided  among  them,  according  to  rules  which  custom  had  intro. 
duced,  as  permanent  establishments  which  their  successful  valor 
merited.  In  the  infancy  of  those  settlements,  when  their  extent 
as  well  as  their  value  was  unknown,  many  irregularities  escaped 
observation,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  connive  at  many  ex- 
cesses. The  conquered  people  were  frequently  pillaged  with  de- 
structive rapacity,  and  their  country  parceled  out  among  its  new 
masters  in  exorbitant  shares,  far  exceeding  the  highest  recom- 
pense due  to  their  services.  The  rude  conquerors  of  America,  in- 
capable of  forming  their  establishments  upon  any  general  or  ex- 
tensive plan  of  policy,  attentive  only  to  private  interest,  unwilling 
to  forego  present  gain  from  the  prospect  of  remote  or  public  ben- 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  701 

efit,  seem  to  have  had  no  object  but  to  amass  sudden  wealth,  with- 
out regarding  what  might  be  the  consequences  of  the  means  by 
which  they  acquired  it.  But  when  time  at  length  discovered  to 
the  Spanish  court  the  importance  of  its  American  possessions,  the 
necessity  of  new-modeling  their  whole  frame  became  obvious,  and 
in  place  of  the  maxims  and  practices  prevalent  among  military 
adventurers,  it  was  found  requisite  to  substitute  the  institutions 
of  regular  government. 

Oue  evil  in  particular  called  for  an  immediate  remedy.  The 
conquerors  of  Mexico  and  Peru  imitated  the  fatal  example  of  their 
countrymen  settled  in  the  islands,  and  employed  themselves  in 
searching  for  gold  and  silver  with  the  same  inconsiderate  eager- 
ness. Similar  effects  followed.  The  natives  employed  in  this 
labor  by  masters,  who  in  imposing  tasks  had  no  regard  either  to 
what  they  felt  or  to  what  they  were  able  to  perform,  pined  away 
and  perished  so  fast,  that  there  was  reason  to  apprehend  that 
Spain,  instead  of  possessing  countries  peopled  to  such  a  degree  as 
to  be  susceptible  of  progressive  improvement,  would  soon  remain 
proprietor  only  of  a  vast,  uninhabited  desert. 

The  emperor  and  his  ministers  were  so  sensible  of  this,  and  so 
solicitous  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  the  Indian  race,  which  threat- 
ened to  render  their  acquisitions  of  no  value,  that,  from  time  to  time, 
various  laws,  which  I  have  mentioned,  had  been  made  for  securing 
to  that  unhappy  people  more  gent»  and  equitable  treatment.  But 
the  distance  of  America  from  the  seat  of  empire,  the  feeblenees  of 
government  in  the  new  colonies,  the  avarice  and  audacity  of  soldiers 
unaccustomed  to  restraint,  prevented  these  salutary  regulations  from 
operating  with  any  considerable  influence.  The  evil  continued  to 
grow,  and,  at  this  time  the  emperor  found  an  interval  of  leisure  from 
the  affairs  of  Europe  to  take  it  into  attentive  consideration.  He 
consulted  not  only  with  his  ministers  and  the  members  of  the  coun- 
cil of  the  Indies,  but  called  upon  several  persons  who  had  resided 
long  in  the  New  World  to  aid  them  with  the  result  of  their  expe- 
rience and  observation.  Fortunately  for  the  people  of  America, 
among  these  was  Bartholomew  de  las  Casas,  who  happened  then  to 
be  at  Madrid  on  a  mission  from  a  chapter  of  his  order  at  Chiapa. 
Though,  since  the  miscarriage  of  his  former  schemes  for  the  relief 
of  the  Indians,  he  had  continued  shut  up  in  his  cloister,  or  occu- 
pied in  religious  functions,  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  former  objects 


702 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


of  his  pity  was  so  far  from  abating,  that,  from  an  increased  knowl- 
edge of  their  sufferings,  its  ardor  had  augmented.  He  seized  ea- 
gerly this  opportunity  of  reviving  his  favorite  maxims  concerning 
the  treatment  of  the  Indians.  With  the  moving  eloquence  natural 
to  a  man  on  whose  mind  the  scenes  which  he  had  beheld  had  made 
a  deep  impression,  he  described  the  irreparable  waste  of  the  human 

species  in  the  New  World,  the 
Indian  race  almost  totally  swept 
away  in  the  islands  in  less  than 
fifty  years,  and  hastening  to  ex- 
tinction on  the  continent  with 
the  same  rapid  decay.  With  the 
decisive  tone  of  one  strongly 
prepossessed  with  the  truth  of 
his  own  system,  he  imputed  all 
this  to  a  single  cause,  to  the 
exactions  and  cruelty  of  his 
countrymen,  and  contended  that 
nothing  could  prevent  the  de- 
population of  America,  but  the 
declaring  of  its  natives  to  be 
freemen,  and  treating  them  as 
subjects,  not  as  slaves.  Nor  did 
he  confide  for  the  success  of  this 
proposal  in  the  powers  of  his 
oratory  alone.  In  order  to  en- 
force them,  he  composed  his  fa- 
mous treatise  concerning  the 
destruction  of  America,  in  which 
he  relates,  with  many  horrid  cir- 
cumstances, but  with  apparent 
marks  of  exaggerated  descrip- 
tion, the  devastation  of  every 
province  which  had  been  visited  by  the  Spaniards. 

The  emperor  was  deeply  afflicted  with  the  recital  of  so  many 
actions  shocking  to  humanity.  But  as  his  views  extended  far  be- 
yond those  of  Las  Casas,  he  perceived  that  relieving  the  Indians 
from  oppression  was  but  one  step  towards  rendering  his  possessions 
in  the  New  World  a  valuable  acquisition,  and  would  be  of  little 


MONUMENT    OF    LAS   CASAS,   THE    APOSTLE    OF    THE    INDIANS. 

MARBLE    STATUE    IN   MADRID.      D.    ANTONIO    MOlTO   Y    SUCH. 


s  *• 


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co  5 

U  <= 

Z  < 

*  0 

S3  I 


s  « 


.3° 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


705 


avail,  unless  he  could  circumscribe  the  power  and  usurpations  of 
his  own  subjects  there.  The  conquerors  of  America,  however  great 
their  merit  had  been  towards  their  country, 
were  mostly  persons  of  such  mean  birth,  and 
of  such  an  abject  rank  in  society,  as  gave  no 
distinction  in  the  eye  of  a  monarch.  The  ex- 
orbitant wealth  with  which  some  of 
them  returned,  gave  umbrage  to  an 
age  not  accustomed  to  see  men  in 
inferior  condition  elevated  above  their 
level,  and  rising  to  emulate  or  to  sur- 
pass the  ancient  nobility  in  splendor. 
The  territories  which  their  leaders  had 
appropriated  to  themselves  were  of  such 
enormous  extent,  that,  if  the  country  should 
ever  be  improved  in  proportion  to 
the  fertility  of  the  soil,  they  must 
grow  too  wealthy  and  too  powerful 
for  subjects.  It  appeared  to  Charles 
that  this  abuse  required  a  remedy  no 
less  than  the  other,  and  that  the 
regulations  concerning  both  must  be 
enforced  by  a  mode  of  government 
more  vigorous  than  had  yet  been  introduced  into  America. 

With  this  view  he  framed  a  body  of  laws,  containing  many  sal- 
utary appointments  with  respect  to  the  constitution  and  powers  of 
the  supreme  council  of  the  Indies ;  concerning  the  station  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  royal  audiences  in  different  parts  of  America ; 
the  administration  of  justice  ;  the  order  of  government,  both  eccle- 
siastical and  civil.  These  were  approved  of  by  all  ranks  of  men. 
But  together  with  them  were  issued  the  following  regulations,  which 
excited  universal  alarm,  and  occasioned  the  most  violent  convul- 
sions :  "  That  as  the  repartimientos  or  shares  of  land  seized  by  sev- 
eral persons  appeared  to  be  excessive,  the  royal  audiences  are  em- 
powered to  reduce  them  to  a  moderate  extent :  That  upon  the  death 
of  any  conqueror  or  planter,  the  lands  and  Indians  granted  to  him 
shall  not  descend  to  his  widow  or  children,  but  return  to  the  crown  : 
That  the  Indians  shall  henceforth  be  exempt  from  personal  serv- 
ice, and  shall  not  be  compelled  to  carry  the  baggage  of  travelers, 


LAS    CASAS. 

The  editor  of  this  book  cannot  forego  the  opportunity  offered  him 
here  to  quote  the  words  of  just  tribute  paid  to  Las  Casas  by  that  master- 
mind, Jonn  Fiske,  in  his  work,  "The  Discovery  of  America."  vol.2, 
page  482  :  "  In  contemplating  such  a  life  as  that  of  Las  Casas.  all  words 
of  eulogy  seem  weak  and  frivolous.  The  historian  can  only  bow  in 
reverent  awe  before  a  figure  which  is  in  some  respects  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  sublime  in  the  annals  of  Christianity  since  the  apostolic  age. 
When  now  and  then  in  the  course  of  the  centuries  God's  providence 
brings  such  a  life  into  this  world,  the  memory  of  it  must  be  cherished  by 
mankind  as  one  of  its  most  precious  and  sacred  possessions.  For  the 
thoughts,  the  words,  the  deeds  of  such  a  man,  there  is  no  death.  The 
sphere  of  their  influence  goes  on  widening  forever.  They  bud,  they 
blossom,  they  bear  fruit,  from  age  to  age." 


706 


THE    CONQUEST    OF   PERU. 


to  labor  in  the  mines,  or  to  dive  in  the  pearl  fisheries :  That 
the  stated  tribute  due  by  them  to  their  superior  shall  be  ascer- 
tained, and  they  shall  be  paid  as  servants  for  any  work  they 
voluntarily  perform :  That  all  persons  who  are  or  have  been  in 
public  offices,  all  ecclesiastics  of  every  denomination,  all  hospitals 
and  monasteries,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  lands  and  Indians 
allotted  to  them,  and  these  be  annexed  to  the  crown :  That 
every  person  in  Peru,  who  had  any  criminal  concern  in  the  con- 
tests between  Pizarro  and  Almagro,  should  forfeit  his  lands  and 
Indians." 

All  the  Spanish  ministers  who  had  hitherto  been  intrusted 
with  the  direction  of  American  affairs,  and  who  were  best  ac- 
quainted with  the  state  of  the  country,  remonstrated  against  those 
regulations  as  ruinous  to  their  infant  colonies.  They  represented, 
that  the  number  of  Spaniards  who  had  hitherto  emigrated  to  the 
New  World  was  so  extremely  small,  that  nothing  could  be  expected 
from  any  effort  of  theirs  towards  improving  the  vast  regions  over 
which  they  were  scattered;  that  the  success  of  every  scheme  for 
this  purpose  must  depend  upon  the  ministry  and  service  of  the 
Indians,  whose  native  indolence  and  aversion  to  labor,  no  prospect 
of  benefit  or  promise  of  reward  could  surmount;  that  the  moment 
the  right  of  imposing  a  task,  and  exacting  the  performance  of  it, 
was  taken  from  their  masters,  every  work  of  industry  must  cease, 

and  all  the  sources  from  which  wealth  began 
to  pour  in  upon  Spain  must  be  stopped  for 
ever.  But  Charles,  tenacious  at  all  times  of 
his  own  opinions,  and  so  much  impressed  at 
present  with  the  view  of  the  disorders  which 
reigned  in  America,  that  he  was  willing  to 
hazard  the  application  even  of  a  dangerous 
remedy,  persisted  in  his  resolution  of  publish- 
ing the  laws.  That  they  might  be  carried 
into  execution  with  greater  vigor  and  au- 
thority, he  authorized  Francisco  Tello  de 
Sandoval  to  repair  to  Mexico  as  Visitador,  or 
superintendent  of  that  country,  and  to  co- 
operate with  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  the  Vice- 
roy, in  enforcing  them.  He  appointed  Blasco 
Nunez  Vela  to  be  governor  of  Peru,  with  the 


THE    EMPEROR    CHARLES    ' 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  joy 

title  of  viceroj- ;  and  in  order  to  strengthen  his  administration,  he 
established  a  court  of  royal  audience  at  Lima  [1543],  in  which  four 
lawyers  of  eminence  were  to  preside  as  Judges. 

The  viceroy  and  superintendent  sailed  at  the  same  time  ;  and 
an  account  of  the  laws  which  they  were  to  enforce  reached  America 
before  them.  The  entry  of  Sandoval  into  Mexico  was  viewed  as 
the  prelude  of  general  ruin.  The  unlimited  grant  of  liberty  to 
the  Indians  affected  every  Spaniard  in  America  without  distinction, 
and  there  was  hardly  one  who  might  not,  on  some  pretext,  be  in- 
cluded under  the  other  regulations,  and  suffer  by  them.  But  the 
colony  in  New  Spain  had  now  been  so  long  accustomed  to  the  re- 
straints of  law  and  authority,  under  the  steady  and  prudent  admin- 
istration of  Meudoza,  that,  how  much  soever  the  spirit  of  the  new 
statutes  was  detested  and  dreaded,  no  attempt  was  made  to  obstruct 
the  application  of  them  by  any  act  of  violence  unbecoming  subjects. 
The  magistrates  and  principal  inhabitants,  however,  presented 
dutiful  addresses  to  the  viceroy  and  superintendent,  representing 
the  fatal  consequences  of  enforcing  them.  Happily  for  them, 
Mendoza,  by  long  residence  in  the  country,  was  so  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  its  state,  that  he  knew  what  was  for  its  interest  as 
well  as  what  it  could  bear;  and  Sandoval,  though  new  in  office,  dis- 
played a  degree  of  moderation  seldom  possessed  by  persons  just 
entering  upon  the  exercise  of  power.  They  engaged  to  suspend,  for 
some  time,  the  execution  of  what  was  offensive  in  the  new  laws, 
and  not  only  consented  that  a  deputation  of  citizens  should  be  sent 
to  Europe  to  lay  before  the  emperor  the  apprehensions  of  his  sub- 
jects in  New  Spain  with  respect  to  their  tendency  and  effects,  but 
they  concurred  with  them  in  supporting  their  sentiments.  Charles, 
moved  by  the  opinion  of  men  whose  abilities  and  integrity  entitled 
them  to  decide  concerning  what  fell  immediately  under  their  own 
view,  granted  such  a  relaxation  of  the  rigor  of  the  laws  as  re-estab- 
lished the  colony  in  its  former  tranquillity. 

In  Peru  the  storm  gathered  with  an  aspect  still  more  fierce 
and  threatening,  and  was  not  so  soon  dispelled.  The  conquerors  of 
Peru,  of  a  rank  much  inferior  to  those  who  had  subjected  Mexico 
to  the  Spanish  crown,  farther  removed  from  the  inspection  of  the 
parent  state,  and  intoxicated  with  the  sudden  acquisition  of  wealth, 
carried  on  all  their  operations  with  greater  license  and  irregularity 
than  any  body  of  adventurers  in  the  New  World.     Amidst  the  gen- 


708  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

eral  subversion  of  law  and  order,  occasioned  by  two  successive  civil 
wars,  when  each  individual  was  at  liberty  to  decide  for  himself, 
without  any  guide  but  his  own  interest  or  passions,  this  turbulent 
spirit  rose  above  all  sense  of  subordination.  To  men  thus  cor- 
rupted by  anarchy,  the  introduction  of  regular  government,  the 
power  of  a  viceroy,  and  the  authority  of  a  respectable  court  of  judi- 
cature, would  of  themselves  have  appeared  formidable  restraints,  to 
which  they  would  have  submitted  wi'th  reluctance.  But  they  re- 
volted -with  indignation  against  the  idea  of  complying  with  laws, 
by  which  they  were  to  be  stripped  at  once  of  all  they  had  earned 
so  hardly  during  many  years  of  service  and  suffering.  As  the  ac- 
count of  the  new  laws  spread  successively  through  the  different 
settlements,  the  inhabitants  ran  together,  the  women  in  tears,  and 
the  men  exclaiming  against  the  injustice  and  ingratitude  of  their 
sovereign  in  depriving  them,  unheard  and  unconvicted,  of  their 
possessions.  "Is  this,"  cried  they,  "the  recompense  due  to  persons, 
who,  without  public  aid,  at  their  own  expense,  and  by  their  own 
valor,  have  subjected  to  the  crown  of  Castile,  territories  of  such 
immense  extent  and  opulence  ?  Are  these  the  rewards  bestowed 
for  having  endured  unparalleled  distress,  for  having  encountered 
every  species  of  danger  in  the  service  of  their  country?  Whose 
merit  is  so  great,  whose  conduct  has  been  so  irreproachable,  that 
he  may  not  be  condemned  by  some  penal  clause  in  regulations,  con- 
ceived in  terms  as  loose  and  comprehensive,  as  if  it  had  been  in- 
tended that  all  should  be  entangled  in  their  snare?  Every  Span- 
iard of  note  in  Peru  has  held  some  public  office,  and  all,  without 
distinction,  have  been  constrained  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  con- 
test between  the  two  rival  chiefs.  Were  the  former  to  be  robbed 
of  their  property  because  the}'  had  done  their  duty  ?  Were  the 
latter  to  be  punished  on  account  of  what  they  could  not  avoid  ? 
Shall  the  conquerors  of  this  great  empire,  instead  of  receiving 
marks  of  distinction,  be  deprived  of  the  natural  consolation  of  pro- 
viding for  their  widows  and  children,  and  leave  them  to  depend  for 
subsistence  on  the  scanty  supply  they  can  extort  from  unfeeling 
courtiers?"  "We  are  not  able  now,"  continued  they,  "to  explore 
unknown  regions  in  quest  of  more  secure  settlements;  our  consti- 
tutions debilitated  with  age,  and  our  bodies  covered  with  wounds, 
are  no  longer  fit  for  active  service  ;  but  still  we  possess  vigor  suffi- 
cient to  assert  our  just  rights,  and  we  will  not  tamely  suffer  them 
to  be  wrested  from  us." 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  709 

By  discourses  of  this  sort,  uttered  with  vehemence,  and  lis- 
tened to  with  universal  approbation,  their  passions  were  inflamed 
to  such  a  pitch,  that  they  were  prepared  for  the  most  violent  meas- 
ures ;  and  began  to  hold  consultations  in  different  places,  how  they 
might  oppose  the  entrance  of  the  viceroy  and  judges,  and  prevent 
not  only  the  execution  but  the  promulgation  of  the  new  laws. 
From  this,  however,  they  were  diverted  by  the  address  of  Vaca  de 
Castro,  who  flattered  them  with  hopes,  that,  as  soon  as  the  viceroy 
and  judges  should  arrive,  and  had  leisure  to  examine  their  peti- 
tions and  remonstrances,  they  would  concur  with  them  in  endeav- 
oring to  procure  some  mitigation  in  the  rigor  of  laws  which  had 
been  framed  without  due  attention  either  to  the  state  of  the  coun- 
try, or  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people.  A  greater  degree  of  ac- 
commodation to  these,  and  even  some  concessions  on  the  part  of 
government,  were  now  become  requisite  to  compose  the  present 
ferment,  and  to  soothe  the  colonists  into  submission,  by  inspiring 
them  with  confidence  in  their  superiors.  But  without  profound 
discernment,  conciliating  manners,  and  flexibility  of  temper,  such 
a  plan  could  not  be  carried  on.  The  viceroy  possessed  none  of 
these.  Of  all  the  qualities  that  fit  men  for  high  command,  he  was 
endowed  only  with  integrity  and  courage ;  the  former  harsh  and 
uncomplying,  the  latter  bordering  so  frequently  on  rashness  or 
obstinacy,  that,  in  his  situation,  they  were  defects  rather  than 
virtues.  From  the  moment  that  he  landed  at  Tumbez  [March  4], 
Nunez  Vela  seems  to  have  considered  himself  merely  as  an  ex- 
ecutive officer,  without  any  discretionary  power ;  and,  regardless 
of  whatever  he  observed  or  heard  concerning  the  state  of  the  coun- 
try, he  adhered  to  the  letter  of  the  regulations  with  unrelenting 
rigor.  In  all  the  towns  through  which  he  passed,  the  natives  were 
declared  to  be  free,  every  person  in  public  office  was  deprived  of 
his  lands  and  servants  ;  and  as  an  example  of  obedience  to  others, 
he  would  not  suffer  a  single  Indian  to  be  employed  in  carrying 
his  own  baggage  in  his  march  towards  Lima.  Amazement  and 
consternation  went  before  him  as  he  approached ;  and  so  little 
solicitous  was  he  to  prevent  these  from  augmenting,  that,  on  enter- 
ing the  capital,  he  openly  avowed  that  he  came  to  obey  the  orders 
of  his  sovereign,  not  to  dispense  with  his  laws.  This  harsh  decla- 
ration was  accompanied  with  what  rendered  it  still  more  intoler- 
able, haughtiness  in  deportment,  a  tone  of  arrogance  and  decision 


710 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


THE    GOVERNOR,    VACA    DE    CASTRO,    IMPRISONED    IN    THE    COMMON    JAIL. 


leader 
From 


in  discpurse,  and  an  insolence  of  office  grievous  to  men  little 
accustomed  to  hold  civil  authority  in  high  respect.  Bvery 
attempt  to  procure  a  suspension  or  mitigation  of  the  new 
laws,  the  viceroy  considered  as  flowing  from  a  spirit  of  dis- 
affection that  tended  to  rebellion.  Several  persons  of  rank 
were  confined,  and  some  put  to  death,  without  any  form  of 

trial.  Vaca  de  .Castro  was  arrested ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  dignity  of 
his  former  rank,  and  his  merit,  in 
having  prevented  a  general  insurrec- 
tion in  the  colony,  he  was  loaded  with 
chains,  and  shut  up  in  the  common 
gaol. 

But,  however  general  the  indig- 
nation was  against  such  proceedings, 
it  is  probable  the  hand  of  authority 
would  have  been  strong  enough  to 
suppress  it,  or  to  prevent  it  bursting 
out  with  open  violence,  if  the  malcon- 
tents had  not  been  provided  with  a 
of  credit  and  eminence  to  unite  and  to  direct  their  efforts. 
the  time  that  the  purport  of  the  new  regulations  was  known 
Peru,  every  Spaniard  there  turned  his  eyes  toward  Gonzalo 
Pizarro,  as  the  only  person  able  to  avert  the  ruin 
with  which  they  threatened  the  colony.  From 
all  quarters,  letters  and  addresses  were  sent  to 
him,  conjuring  him  to  stand  forth  as  their 
common  protector,  and  offering  to  support  him 
in  the  attempt  with  their  lives  and  fortunes. 
Gonzalo,  though  inferior  in  talents  to  his  other 
brothers,  was  equally  ambitious,  and  of  courage 
no  less  daring.  The  behavior  of  an  ungrateful 
court  towards  his  brothers  and  himself  dwelt  con- 
tinually on  his  mind.  Ferdinand  a  state-prisoner 
in  Europe,  the  children  of  the  governor  in  cus- 
tody of  the  viceroy,  and  sent  aboard  his  fleet,  him- 
self reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  private  citizen 
in  a  country  for  the  discovery  and  conquest 
of  which  Spain  was  indebted  to  his  family; 


GONZALO    PIZAKRO. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


711 


RUINS    OF    THE    OLD    INCA     FORTRESS    OF    SACSAHUAMAN. 
(FROM    A     PHOTOGRAPH.) 


— these  thoughts  prompted  him  to  seek  for  vengeance,  and  to  assert 
the  rights  of  his  family,  of  which  he  now  considered  himself  as 
the  guardian  and  the  heir.  But  as  no  Spaniard  can  easily  sur- 
mount that  veneration  for  his  sovereign  which  seems  to  be  inter- 
woven in  his  frame,  the  idea  of  marching  iu  arms  against  the 
royal  standard  filled  him  with  horror.  He  hesitated  long,  and 
was  still  unresolved,  when  the  violence  of  the  viceroy,  the  uni- 
versal call  of  his  countrymen,  and  the  certainty  of  becoming 
soon  a  victim  himself  to  the  severity 
of  the  new  laws,  moved  him  to  quit 
his  residence  at  Chuquisaca  de  la 
Plata,  and  repair  to  Cuz- 
co.  All  the  inhabitants 
went  out  to  meet  him, 
and  received  him  with 
transports  of  joy  as  the 
deliverer  of  the  colony. 
In  the  fervor  of  their 
zeal,  they  elected  him  procurator-general  of  the  Spanish  nation 
in  Peru,  to  solicit  the  repeal  of  the  late  regulations.  They  em- 
powered him  to  lay  their  remonstrances  before  the  royal  audience 
in  Lima,  and,  upon  pretext  of  danger  from  the  Indians,  au- 
thorized him  to  march  thither  in  arms  [1544].  Under  sanction 
of  this  nomination  Pizarro  took  possession  of  the  royal  treas- 
ure, appointed  officers,  levied  soldiers,  seized  a  large  train  of 
artillery  which  Vaca  de  Castro  had  deposited  in  Gumanga,  and  set 
out  for  Lima  as  if  he  had  been  advancing  against  a  public  enemy. 
Disaffection  having  now  assumed  a  regular  form,  and  being  united 
under  a  chief  of  such  distinguished  name,  many  persons  of  note 
resorted  to  his  standard ;  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  troops, 
raised  by  the  viceroy  to  oppose  his  progress,  deserted  to  him  in  a 
body. 

Before  Pizarro  reached  Lima,  a  revolution  had  happened  there, 
which  encouraged  him  to  proceed  with  almost  certainty  of  success. 
The  violence  of  the  viceroy's  administration  was  not  more  formida- 
ble to  the  Spaniards  of  Peru,  than  his  overbearing  haughtiness  was 
odious  to  his  associates,  the  judges  of  the  royal  audience.  During 
their  voyage  from  Spain,  some  symptoms  of  coldness  between  the 
viceroy  and  them  began  to  appear.     But  as  soon  as  they  entered 


712  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

upon  the  exercise  of  their  respective  offices,  both  parties  were  so 
much  exasperated  by  frequent  contests,  arising  from  interference 
of  jurisdiction  and  contrariety  of  opinion,  that  their  mutual  disgust 
soon  grew  into  open  enmity.  The  judges  thwarted  the  viceroy  iu 
every  measure,  set  at  liberty  prisoners  whom  he  had  confined,  jus- 
tified the  malcontents,  and  applauded  their  remonstrances.  At  a 
time  when  both  departments  of  government  should  have  united 
against  the  approaching  enemy,  they  were  contending  with  each 
other  for  superiority.  The  judges  at  length  prevailed.  The  vice- 
roy, universally  odious,  and  abandoned  even  by  his  own  guards, 
was  seized  in  his  palace  [Sept.  18],  and  carried  to  a  desert  island  on 
the  coast,  to  be  kept  there  until  he  could  be  sent  home  to  Spain. 

The  judges,  in  consequence  of  this,  having  assumed  the  su- 
preme direction  of  affairs  in  their  own  hands,  issued  a  proclama- 
tion suspending  the  execution  of  the  obnoxious  laws,  and  sent  a 
message  to  Pizarro,  requiring  him,  as  they  had  already  granted 
whatever  he  could  request,  to  dismiss  his  troops,  and  to  repair  to 
Lima  with  fifteen  or  twenty  attendants.  They  could  hardly  expect 
that  a  man  so  daring  and  ambitious  would  tamely  comply  with  this 
requisition.  It  was  made,  probably,  with  no  such  intention,  but 
only  to  throw  a  decent  veil  over  their  own  conduct ;  for  Cepeda, 
the  president  of  the  court  of  audience,  a  pragmatical  and  aspiring 
lawyer,  seems  to  have  held  a  secret  correspondence  with  Pizarro, 
and  had  already  formed  the  plan,  which  he  afterwards  executed,  of 
devoting  himself  to  his  service.  The  imprisonment  of  the  viceroy, 
the  usurpation  of  the  judges,  together  with  the  universal  confusion 
and  anarchy  consequent  upon  events  so  singular  and  unexpected, 
opened  new  and  vast  prospects  to  Pizarro.  He  now  beheld  the 
supreme  power  within  his  reach.  Nor  did  he  want  courage  to  push 
on  towards  the  object  which  fortune  presented  to  his  view.  Carva- 
jal,  the  prompter  of  his  resolutions,  and  guide  of  all  his  actions, 
had  long  fixed  his  eye  upon  it  as  the  only  end  at  which  Pizarro 
ought  to  aim.  Instead  of  the  inferior  function  of  procurator  for 
the  Spanish  settlements  in  Peru,  he  openly  demanded  to  be  gov- 
ernor and  captain-general  of  the  whole  province,  and  required  the 
court  of  audience  to  grant  him  a  commission  to  that  effect.  At  the 
head  of  twelve  hundred  men,  within  a  mile  of  Lima,  where  there 
was  neither  leader  nor  army  to  oppose  him,  such  a  request  carried 
with  it  the  authority  of  a  command.     But  the  judges,  either  from 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 


7*3 


unwillingness  to  relinquish  power,  or  from-  a  desire  of  preserving 
some  attention  to  appearances,  hesitated,  or  seemed  to  hesitate, 
about  complying  with  what  he  demanded.  Carvajal,  impatient  01* 
delay,  and  impetuous  in  all  his  operations,  marched  into  the  city 
by  night,  seized  several  officers  of  distinction  obnoxious  to  Pizarro, 
and  hanged  them  without  the  formality  of  a  trial.  Next  morning 
the  court  of  audience  issued  a  commission  in  the  emperor's  name, 
appointing  Pizarro  governor  of  Peru,  with  full  powers,  civil  as  well 
as  military,  and  he  entered  the  town  that  day  with  extraordinary 
pomp,  to  take  possession  of  his  new  dignity. 


gwg.  • 


SUBTERRANEAN    CANAL   OF    MOUNT   SIPA. 

Much  of  the  country  along  the  sea-coast  of  Peru  suffered  from  want 
of  water,  as  little  or  no  rain  fell  there  In  order  to  reclaim  the  soil,  it 
needed  only  to  be  properly  irrigated  to  be  susceptible  of  extraordinary 
production.  To  these  spots  water  was  conveyed  by  means  of  canals 
and  subterraneous  aqueducts,  executed  on  a  noble  scale.  They  con- 
sisted of  large  slabs  of  freestone  nicely  fitted  together  without  cement, 
and  discharged  a  volume  of  water  sufficient,  by  means  of  latent  ducts 
or  sluices,  to  moisten  the  lands  in  the  lower  levels  through  which  they 
passed.  One  of  these  aqueducts,  which  traversed  the  district  of  Con- 
desuyu,  measured  between  four  and  five  hundred  miles.  They  were 
brought  from  some  elevated  lake  or  natural  reservoir  in  the  heart  of 
the  mountains,  and  were  fed"  at  intervals  by  other  basins  which  lay  in 
their  route,  in  this  descent  passages  were  opened  for  them  through 
rocks;  rivers  and  marshes  were  crossed,  and  in. short,  the  same  ob- 
stacles wtwe  encountered  and  successfully  overcome  as  in  the  con- 
struction of  their  mighty  roads — Prescottt  Conquest^  Vol.  /.,/>.  J3. 


OLD    PERUVIAN    TEXTILE    FABRIC. 

ONE-HALF   OF   CENTRAL    PART    OF    A   SHEET.      LIKELY    TO    HAVE    BEEN    USED   AS   A   CURTAIN. 

FOUND    IN    THE    HUACA   OF   GRANCHIMU. 


CHAPTER   LXXI. 


NUNEZ   VELA    MARCHES  AGAINST    PIZARRO   AND    IS    KILLED    IN    BATTLE.      PIZARRO'S    NEGOTIA- 
TIONS WITH   THE   SPANISH    CROWN.     APPOINTMENT  OF    PEDRO  DE   LA   GASCA, 
A    PRIEST,  TO  THE   PRESIDENCY   OF   PERU. 


UT  amidst  the  disorder  and  turbulence  which,  ac- 
companied this  total  dissolution  of  the  frame  of 
government,  the    minds  of  men,  set  loose  from 
the  ordinary  restraints  of  law  and  authority,  acted 
with  such  capricious  irregularity,  that  events  no 
less   extraordinary  than  unexpected    followed  in 
rapid  succession.     Pizarro  had  scarcely  begun  to 
exercise  the  new  powers  with  which   he  was  in- 
vested, when  he  beheld  formidable  enemies  rise 
up  to  oppose  him.    The  viceroy  having  been  put 
on  board  a  vessel  by  the  judges  of  the  audience,  in  order  that  he 
might  be  carried  to  Spain  under  custody  of  Juan  Alvarez,  one  of 
their  own  number ;  as  soon  as  they  were  out  at  sea,  Alvarez,  either 
touched  with  remorse,  or  moved  by  fear,  kneeled  down  to  his  pris- 
oner, declared  him  from  that  moment  to  be  free,  and  that  he  him- 
self, and  every  person  in  the  ship,  would  obey  him  as  the 
legal  representative  of   their    sovereign.      Nunez    Vela 
ordered  the  pilot  of  the  vessel  to  shape  his  course 
towards  Tuinbez,  and,  as  soon  as  he  landed  there, 
erected  the  royal  standard,  and  resumed  his  func- 
tions of  viceroy.    Several  persons  of  note,  to  whom 
the  contagion  of  the  seditious  spirit  which  reigned 
at  Cuzco  and   Lima  had  not  reached,  in- 
stantly avowed  their  resolution  to  support 


ASSASSINATION    OF    PIZARRO'S    LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR   OF    CHARCAS   BY 
DIEGO   CENTENO. 


(7*4) 


THE   CONQUEST   OE   PERU. 


715 


his  authority.  The  violence  of  Pizarro's  governrhent,  who  ob- 
served every  individual  with  the  jealousy  natura]  to  usurpers,  and 
who  punished  every  appearance  of  disaffection  with  unforgiving 
severity,  soon  augmented 
the  number  of  the  vice- 
roy's adherents,  as  it  forced 
some  leading  men  in  the 
colony  to  fly  to  him  for 
refuge.  While  he  was 
gathering  such  strength  at 
Tumbez,  that  his  forces 
began  to  assume  the  ap- 
pearance of  what  was  con- 
s  i  d  e  r  e  d  as  an  army  in 
America,  Diego  Centeno,  a  = 
bold  and  active  officer,  ex- 
asperated by  the  cruelty 
and  oppression  of  Pizarro's 
lieutenant-governor  in  the 
province  of  Charcas,  formed 
a  conspiracy  against  his 
life,  cut  him  off,  and  de- 
clared for  the  viceroy. 

1545.]  Pizarro,  though 
alarmed  with  those  ap- 
pearances of  hostility  in 
the  opposite  extremes  of 
the  empire,  was  not  discon- 
certed. He  prepared  to 
assert  the  authority,  to 
which  he  had  attained,  with 
the  spirit  and  conduct  of 
an  officer  accustomed  to 
co m raand,  and  marched 

J  cl^ctlllSL         LIJC        \lCe-  JUAN    ALVAREZ,    TOUCHED    BY    REMORSE,    OR    MOVED    BY    FEAR.    DECLARES    HIS    PRISONER, 

rov,  as  the  enemy  who  was  T° BE  henceforward  free.  <«m  precede  page.) 

nearest  as  well  as  most  formidable.  As  he  was  master  of  the  pub- 
lic revenues  in  Peru,  and  most  of  the  military  men  were  attached 
to    his    family,    his    troops   were   so   numerous,    that    the    viceroy, 


VACA    DE    CASTRO, 


7i6 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    TERU. 


unable  to  face  them,  retreated  towards  Quito.  Pizarro  followed 
him ;  and  in  that  long  march,  through  a  wild,  mountainous  coun- 
try, suffered  hardships,  and  encountered  difficulties,  which  no  troops 
but  those  accustomed  to  serve  in  America  could  have  endured  or 
surmounted.  The  vicero}-  had  scarcely  reached  Quito,  when  the 
vanguard  of  Pizarro's  forces  appeared,  led  by  Carvajal,  who,  though 
near  fourscore,  was  as  hardy  and  active  as  any  young  soldier  under 
his  command.  Nunez  Vela  instantly  abandoned  a  town  incapable 
of  defense,  and,  with  a  rapidity  more  resembling  a  flight  than  a 
retreat,  marched  into  the  province  of  Popayan.  Pizarro  continued 
to  pursue ;  but,  finding  it  impossible  to  overtake  him,  returned  to 
Quito.  From  thence  he  despatched  Carvajal  to  oppose  Centeno, 
who  was  growing  formidable  in  the  southern  provinces  of  the  em- 
pire, and  he  himself  remained  there  to  make  head  against  the 
viceroy. 

By  his  own  activity,  and  the  assistance  of  Benalcazar,  Nunez 
Vela  soon  assembled  four  hundred  men  in  Popayan.  As  he  re- 
tained, amidst  all  his 
disasters,  the  same 
elevation  of  mind,  and 
the  same  high  sense 
of  his  own  dignity,  he 
rejected  with  disdain 
the  advice  of  some  of 
his  followers  who 
urged  him  to  make 
overtures  of  accommo- 
dation to  Pizarro,  de- 
claring that  it  was  only 
by  the  sword  that  a 
contest  with  rebels 
could  be  decided 
With  this  intention  he 
marched  back  to  Quito 
[1546].  Pizarro,  rely- 
ing on  the  superior 
number,  and  still  more 
on  the  discipline  and 
valor    of  his   troops, 


BATTLE    OF    QUITO,    BETWEEN    THE    ADHERENTS   OF    THE    VICEROY,    NUNEZ    VELA,    AND   THE    KESELS    UNDER   THE 
LEADERSHIP    OF    PIZARRO    ANO    CARVAJAL. 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU.  717 

advanced  resolutely  to  meet  him  [Jan.  18].     The  battle  was  fierce 
and  bloody,  both   parties    fighting  like   men    who  knew  that    the 
possession  of  a  great  empire,  the  fate  of  their  leaders,  and  their 
own  future  fortune,  depended  upon  the   issue  of  that  day.      But 
Pizarro's  veterans  pushed    forward    with    such    regular  and  well- 
directed  force,  that  they  soon  began  to  make  impressions  on  their 
enemies.     The  viceroy,    by  extraordinary  exertions,  in  which  the 
abilities  of  a  commander  and  the  courage  of  a  soldier  were  equal- 
ly displayed,  held  victory  for  some  time   in  suspense.     At  length 
he  fell,  pierced  with  many  wounds ;  and  the  rout  of  his  followers 
became  general.      They  were   hotly  pursued.      His  head  was    cut 
off,   and  placed  on  the  public  gibbet  in  Quito,  which  Pizarro  en- 
tered in    triumph.       The  troops  assembled  by  Centeno  were  dis- 
persed soon  after  by  Carvajal,  and  he  himself  compelled  to  fly  to 
the  mountains,  where  he  remained  for  several  months  concealed 
in  a  cave.     Every  person  in  Peru,  from  the  frontiers  of  Popayan 
to   those  of  Chili,  submitted   to    Pizarro  ;   and  by  his  fleet,  under 
Pedro  de  Hinojosa,  he  had  not  only  the  unrivaled  command  of  the 
South  Sea,  but  had  taken  possession  of  Panama,  and  placed  a  gar- 
rison   in   Nombre  de   Dios,  on   the   opposite  side  of  the  isthmus, 
which  rendered  him  master  of  the  only  avenue  of  communication 
between  Spain  and  Peru,  that  was  used  at  that  period. 

After  this  decisive  victory,  Pizarro  and  his  followers  remained 
for  some  time  at  Quito  ;  and  during  the  first  transports  of  their 
exultation,  they  ran  into  every  excess  of  licentious  indulgence, 
with  the  riotous  spirit  usual  among  low  adventurers  upon  extraor- 
dinary success.  But,  amidst  this  dissipation,  their  chief  and  his 
confidants  were  obliged  to  turn  their  thoughts  sometimes  to  what 
was  serious,  and  deliberated  with  much  solicitude  concerning  the 
part  that  he  ought  now  to  take.  Carvajal,  no  less  bold  and  de- 
cisive in  council  than  in  the  field,  had,  from  the  beginning,  warned 
Pizarro,  that  in  the  career  on  which  he  was  entering,  it  was  vain 
to  think  of  holding  a  middle  course ;  that  he  must  either  boldly 
aim  at  all,  or  attempt  nothing.  From  the  time  that  Pizarro  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  government  of  Peru,  he  inculcated  the 
same  maxim  with  greater  earnestness.  Upon  receiving  an  account 
of  the  victory  at  Quito,  he  remonstrated  with  him  in  a  tone  still 
more  peremptory.  "  You  have  usurped,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  Pizarro  on  that  occasion,  "  the  supreme  power  in  this  coun- 

40 


718  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

try,  in  contempt  of  the  emperor's  commission  to  the  viceroy.  You 
have  marched  in  hostile  array  against  the  royal  standard ;  you 
have  attacked  the  representative  of  your  sovereign  in  the  field, 
have  defeated  him,  and  cut  off  his  head.  Think  not  that  ever  a 
monarch  will  forgive  such  insults  on  his  dignity,  or  that  any  recon- 
ciliation with  him  can  be  cordial  or  sincere.  Depend  no  longer 
on  the  precarious  favor  of  another.  Assume  yourself  the  sov- 
ereignty over  a  country  to  the  dominion  of  which  your  family  has 
a  title  founded  on  the  rights  both  of  discovery  and  conquest.  It 
is  in  your  power  to  attach  every  Spaniard  in  Peru  of  any  conse- 
quence inviolably  to  your  interest,  by  liberal  grants  of  lands  and 
of  Indians,  or  by  instituting  ranks  of  nobility,  and  creating  titles 
of  honor  similar  to  those  which  are  courted  with  so  much  eager- 
ness in  Kurope.  By  establishing  orders  of  knighthood,  with  priv- 
ileges and  distinctions  resembling  those  in  Spain,  you  may  bestow 
a  gratification  upon  the  officers  in  your  service,  suited  to  the  ideas 
of  military  men.  Nor  is  it  to  your  countrymen  only  that  you 
ought  to  attend;  endeavor  to  gain  the  natives.  By  marrying  the 
Coya,  or  daughter  of  the  Sun,  next  in  succession  to  the  crown,  you 
will  induce  the  Indians,  out  of  veneration  for  the  blood  of  their 
ancient  princes,  to  unite  with  the  Spaniards  in  support  of  your 
authority.  Thus,  at  the  head  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Peru, 
as  well  as  of  the  new  settlers  there,  you  may  set  at  defiance  the 
power  of  Spain,  and  repel  with  ease  any  feeble  force  which  it  can 
send  at  such  a  distance."  Cepeda,  the  lawyer,  who  was  now  Pi- 
zarro's  confidential  counsellor,  warmly  seconded  Carvajal's  exhor- 
tations, and  employed  whatever  learning  he  possessed  in  demon- 
strating, that  all  the  founders  of  great  monarchies  had  been  raised 
to  pre-eminence,  not  by  the  antiquity  of  their  lineage,  or  the  valid- 
ity of  their  rights,  but  by  their  own  aspiring  valor  and  personal 
merit. 

Pizarro  listened  attentively  to  both,  and  could  not  conceal  the 
satisfaction  with  which  he  contemplated  the  object  that  they  pre- 
sented to  his  view.  But,  happily  for  the  tranquillity  of  the  world, 
few  men  possess  that  superior  strength  of  mind,  and  extent  of 
abilities,  which  are  capable  of  forming  and  executing  such  daring 
schemes,  as  cannot  be  accomplished  without  overturning  the  es- 
tablished order  of  society,  and  violating  those  maxims  of  duty 
which   men   are   accustomed   to   hold   sacred.     The   mediocrity  of 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  719 

Pizarro's  talents  circumscribed  his  ambition  within  more  narrow 
limits.  Instead  of  aspiring  at  independent  power,  he  confined  his 
views  to  the  obtaining  from  the  court  of  Spain  a  confirmation  of 
the  authority  which  he  now  possessed ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  he 
sent  an  officer  of  distinction  thither,  to  give  such  a  representation 
of  his  conduct,  and  of  the  state  of  the  country,  as  might  induce  the 
emperor  and  his  ministers,  either  from  inclination  or  from  neces- 
sity, to  continue  him  in  his  present  station. 

While  Pizarro  was  deliberating  with  respect  to  the  part  which 
he  should  take,  consultations  were  held  in  Spain,  with  no  less  solici- 
tude, concerning  the  measures  which  ought  to  be  pursued  in  order 
to  re-establish  the  emperor's  authority  in  Peru.  Though  unac- 
quainted with  the  last  excesses  of  outrage  to  which  the  malcontents 
had  proceeded  in  that  country,  the  court  had  received  an  account 
of  the  insurrection  against  the  viceroy,  of  his  imprisonment,  and 
the  usurpation  of  the  government  by  Pizarro.  A  revolution  so 
alarming  called  for  an  immediate  interposition  of  the  emperor's 
abilities  and  authority.  But  as  he  was  fully  occupied  at  that  time 
in  Germany,  in  conducting  the  war  against  the  famous  league  of 
Smalkalde,  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  arduous  enterprises  in 
his  reign,  the  care  of  providing  a  remedy  for  the  disorders  in  Peru 
devolved  upon  his  son  Philip,  and  the  counsellors  whom  Charles 
had  appointed  to  assist  him  in  the  government  of  Spain  during  his 
absence.  At  first  view,  the  actions  of  Pizarro  and  his  adherents 
appeared  so  repugnant  to  the  dutjr  of  subjects  towards  their  sover- 
eign, that  the  greater  part  of  the  ministers  insisted  on  declaring 
them  instantly  to  be  guilty  of  rebellion,  and  on  proceeding  to  pun- 
ish them  with  exemplary  rigor.  But  when  the  fervor  of  their  zeal 
and  indignation  began  to  abate,  innumerable  obstacles  to  the  exe- 
cution of  this  measure  presented  themselves.  The  veteran  bands 
of  infantry,  the  strength  and  glory  of  the  Spanish  armies,  were 
then  employed  in  Germany.  Spain,  exhausted  of  men  and  money 
by  a  long  series  of  wars,  in  which  she  had  been  involved  by  the 
restless  ambition  of  two  successive  monarchs,  could  not  easily  equip 
an  armament  of  sufficient  force  to  reduce  Pizarro.  To  transport 
any  respectable  body  of  troops  to  a  country  so  remote  as  Peru,  ap- 
peared almost  impossible.  While  Pizarro  continued  master  of  the 
South  Sea,  the  direct  route  by  Nombre  de  Dios  and  Panama  was 
impracticable.     An  attempt  to  march  to  Quito  by  land  through  the 


720  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

new  kingdom  of  Granada,  and  the  province  of  Popayan,  across 
regions  of  prodigious  extent,  desolate,  unhealthy,  or  inhabited  by 
fierce  and  hostile  tribes,  would  be  attended  with  insurmountable 
danger  and  hardships.  The  passage  to  the  South  Sea  by  the  Straits 
of  Magellan  was  so  tedious,  so  uncertain,  and  so  little  known  in 
that  age,  that  no  confidence  could  be  placed  in  any  effort  carried  on 
in  a  course  of  navigation  so  remote  and  precarious.  Nothing  then 
remained  but  to  relinquish  the  system  which  the  ardor  of  their  loy- 
alty had  first  suggested,  and  to  attempt  by  lenient  measures  what 
could  not  be  effected  by  force.  It  was  manifest  from  Pizarro's  so- 
licitude to  represent  his  conduct  in  a  favorable  light  to  the  emperor, 
that,  notwithstanding  the  excesses  of  which  he  had  been  guilty,  he 
still  retained  sentiments  of  veneration  for  his  sovereign.  By  a 
proper  application  to  these,  together  with  some  such  concessions 
as  should  discover  a  spirit  of  moderation  and  forbearance  in  govern- 
ment, there  was  still  room  to  hope  that  he  might  be  yet  reclaimed, 
or  the  ideas  of  loyalty  natural  to  Spaniards  might  so  far  revive 
among  his  followers,  that  they  would  no  longer  lend  their  aid  to 
uphold  his  usurped  authority. 

The  success,  however,  of  this  negotiation,  no  less  delicate  than 
it  was  important,  depended  entirely  on  the  abilities  and  address  of 
the  person  to  whom  it  should  be  committed.  After  weighing  with 
much  attention  the  comparative  merit  of  various  persons,  the  Span- 
ish ministers  fixed,  with  unanimity  of  choice,  upon  Pedro  de  la  Gasca, 
a  priest  in  no  higher  station  than  that  of  counsellor  to  the  Inquisi- 
tion. Though  in  no  public  office,  he  had  been  occasionally  employed 
by  government  in  affairs  of  trust  and  consequence,  and  had  con- 
ducted them  with  no  less  skill  than  success ;  displaying  a  gentle 
and  insinuating  temper,  accompanied  with  much  firmness  ;  probity, 
superior  to  any  feeling  of  private  interest ;  and  a  cautious  circum- 
spection in  concerting  measures,  followed  by  such  vigor  in  executing 
them  as  is  rarely  ftmnd  in  alliance  with  the  other.  These  qualities 
marked  him  out  for  the  function  to  which  he  was  destined.  The 
emperor,  to  whom  Gasca  was  not  unknown,  warmly  approved  of 
the  choice,  and  communicated  it  to  him  in  a  letter,  containing  ex- 
pressions of  good-will  and  confidence,  no  less  honorable  to  the 
prince  who  wrote,  than  to  the  subject  who  received  it.  Gasca,  not- 
withstanding his  advanced  age  and  feeble  constitution,  and  though, 
from  the  apprehensions  natural  to  a  man,  who,  during  the  course 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  721 

of  his  life,  had  never  been  out  of  his  own  country,  he  dreaded  the 
effects  of  a  long  voyage,  and  of  an  unhealthy  climate,  did  not  hesi- 
tate a  moment  about  complying  with  the  will  of  his  sovereign.  But 
as  a  proof  that  it  was  from  this  principle  alone  he  acted,  he  refused 
a  bishopric  which  was  offered  to  him,  in  order  that  he  might  appear 
in  Peru  with  a  more  dignified  character ;  he  would  accept  of  no 
higher  title  than  that  of  President  of  the  Court  of  Audience  in  Lima; 
and  declared  that  he  would  receive  no  salary  on  account  of  his 
discharging  the  duties  of  that  office.  All  he  required  was,  that  the 
expense  of  supporting  his  famiry  should  be  defrayed  by  the  public; 
and  as  he  was  to  go  like  a  minister  of  peace  with  his  gown  and 
breviary,  and  without  any  retinue  but  a  few  domestics,  this  would 
not  load  the  revenue  with  any  enormous  burden. 

But  while  he  discovered  such  disinterested  moderation  with 
respect  to  whatever  related  personally  to  himself,  he  demanded  his 
official  powers  in  a  very  different  tone.  He  insisted,  as  he  was  to 
be  employed  in  a  country  so  remote  from  the  seat  of  government, 
where  he  could  not  have  recourse  to  his  sovereign  for  new  instruc- 
tions on  every  emergence;  and  as  the  whole  success  of  his  negotia- 
tions must  depend  upon  the  confidence  which  the  people  with  whom 
he  had  to  treat  could  place  in  the  extent  of  his  powers,  that  he  ought 
to  be  invested  with  unlimited  authority;  that  his  jurisdiction  must 
reach  to  all  persons  and  to  all  causes ;  that  he  must  be  empowered 
to  pardon,  to  punish,  or  to  reward,  as  circumstances  and  the  behav- 
ior of  different  men  might  require ;  that  in  case  of  resistance  from 
the  malcontents,  he  might  be  authorized  to  reduce  them  to  obedi- 
ence by  force  of  arms,  to  levy  troops  for  that  purpose,  and  to  call 
for  assistance  from  the  governors  of  all  the  Spanish  settlements  in 
America.  These  powers,  though  manifestly  conducive  to  the  great 
objects  of  his  mission,  appeared  to  the  Spanish  ministers  to  be 
inalienable  prerogatives  of  royalty,  which  ought  not  to  be  delegated 
to  a  subject,  and  they  refused  to  grant  them.  But  the  emperor's 
views  were  more  enlarged.  As,  from  the  nature  of  his  employment, 
Gasca  must  be  intrusted  with  discretionary  power  in  several  points, 
and  all  his  efforts  might  prove  ineffectual  if  he  was  circumscribed 
in  any  one  particular,  Charles  scrupled  not  to  invest  him  with  au- 
thority to  the  full  extent  that  he  demanded.  Highly  satisfied  with 
this  fresh,  proof  of  his  master's  confidence,  Gasca  hastened  his 
departure,  and,  without  either  money  or  troops,  set  out  to  quell  a 
formidable  rebellion. 


722  THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 

On  his  arrival  at  Nombre  de  Dios  [July  27],  lie  found  Her- 
man Mexia,  an  officer  of  note,  posted  there,  by  order  of  Pizarro, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  men,  to  oppose  the  landing  of  any 
hostile  forces.  But  Gasca  appeared  in  such  pacific  guise,  with  a 
train  so  little  formidable,  and  with  a  title  of  no  such  dignity  as  to 
excite  terror,  that  he  was  received  with  much  respect.  From 
Nombre  de  Dios  he  advanced  to  Panama,  and  met  with  a  similar 
reception  from  Hinojosa,  whom  Pizarro  had  intrusted  with  the 
government  of  that  town,  and  the  command  of  his  fleet  stationed 
there.  In  both  places  he  held  the  same  language,  declaring  that 
he  was  sent  by  their  sovereign  as  a  messenger  of  peace,  not  as  a 
minister  of  vengeance ;  that  he  came  to  redress  all  their  griev- 
ances, to  revoke  the  laws  which  had  excited  alarm,  to  pardon  past 
offenses,  and  to  re-establish  order  and  justice  in  the  government 
of  Peru.  His  mild  deportment,  the  simplicity  of  his  manners, 
the  sanctity  of  his  profession,  and  a  winning  appearance  of  can- 
dor, gained  credit  to  his  declarations.  The  veneration  due  to  a 
person  clothed  with  legal  authority,  and  acting  in  virtue  of  a  royal 
commission,  began  to  revive  among  men  accustomed  for  some 
time  to  nothing  more  respectable  than  a  usurped  jurisdiction. 
Hinojosa,  Alexia,  and  several  other  officers  of  distinction,  tc  each 
of  whom  Gasca  replied  separatelv,  were  gained  over  to  his  interest, 
and  waited  only  for  some  decent  occasion  of  declaring  openly  in 
his  favor. 

This  the  violence  of  Pizarro  soon  afforded  them.  As  soon  as 
he  heard  of  Gasca's  arrival  at  Panama,  though  he  received,  at  the 
same  time,  on  account  of  the  nature  of  his  commission,  and  was 
informed  of  his  offers  not  only  to  render  every  Spaniard  in  Peru 
easy  concerning  what  was  past,  by  an  act  of  general  oblivion,  but 
secure  with  respect  to  the  future,  by  repealing  the  obnoxious  laws ; 
instead  of  accepting  with  gratitude  his  sovereign's  gracious  con- 
cessions, he  was  so  much  exasperated  on  finding  that  he  was  not 
to  be  continued  in  his  station  as  governor  of  the  country,  that  he 
instantly  resolved  to  oppose  the  president's  entry  into  Peru,  and 
to  prevent  his  exercising  any  jurisdiction  there.  To  this  desperate 
resolution  he  added  another  highly  preposterous.  He  sent  a  new 
deputation  to  Spain  to  justify  his  conduct,  and  to  insist,  in  name 
of  all  the  communities  in  Peru,  for  a  confirmation  of  the  govern- 
ment to  himself  during  life,  as  the  only  means  of  preserving  tran- 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  723 

quillity  there.  The  persons  intrusted  with  this  strange  commis- 
sion, intimated  the  intention  of  Pizarro  to  the  president,  and  re- 
quired him,  in  his  name,  to  depart  from  Panama  and  return  to 
Spain.  They  carried  likewise  secret  instructions  to  Hiuojosa, 
directing  him  to  offer  Gasca  a  present  of  fifty  thousand  pesos,  if 
he  would  comply  voluntarily  with  what  was  demanded  of  him; 
and  if  he  should  continue  obstinate,  to  cut  him  off,  either  by  assas- 
sination or  poison. 

Many  circumstances  concurred  iu  pushing  on  Pizarro  to  those 
wild  measures.  Having  been  once  accustomed  to  supreme  com- 
mand, he  could  not  bear  the  thoughts  of  descending  to  a  private 
station.  Conscious  of  his  own  demerit,  he  suspected  that  the 
emperor  studied  only  to  deceive  him,  and  would  never  pardon  the 
outrages  which  he  had  committed.  His  chief  confidants,  no  less 
guilty,  entertained  the  same  apprehensions.  The  approach  of 
Gasca  without  any  military  force  excited  no  terror.  There  were 
now  above  six  thousand  Spaniards  settled  in  Peru;  and  at  the 
head  of  these  he  doubted  not  to  maintain  his  own  independence, 
if  the  court  of  Spain  should  refuse  to  grant  what  he  required. 
But  he  knew  not  that  a  spirit  of  defection  had  already  begun  to 
spread  among  those  whom  he  trusted  most.  Hinojosa,  amazed  at 
Pizarro's  precipitate  resolution  of  setting  himself  in  opposition  to 
the  emperor's  commission,  and  disdaining  to  be  his  instrument  in 
perpetrating  the  odious  crimes  pointed  out  in  his  secret  instruc- 
tions, publicly  recognized  the  title  of  the  president  to  the  supreme 
authority  in  Peru.  The  officers  under  his  command  did  the  same. 
Such  was  the  contagious  influence  of  the  example,  that  it  reached 
even  the  deputies  who  had  been  sent  from  Peru ;  and  at  the  time 
when  Pizarro  expected  to  hear  either  of  Gasca's  return  to  Spain, 
or  of  his  death,  he  received  an  account  of  his  being  master  of  the 
fleet,  of  Panama,  and  of  the  troops  stationed  there. 

1547].  Irritated  almost  to  madness  by  events  so  unexpected, 
he  openly  prepared  for  war ;  and  in  order  to  give  some  color  of 
justice  to  his  arms,  he  appointed  the  court  of  audience  in  Lima  to 
proceed  to  the  trial  of  Gasca,  for  the  crimes  of  having  seized  his 
ships,  seduced  his  officers,  and  prevented  his  deputies  from  pro- 
ceeding in  their  voyage  to  Spain.  Cepeda,  though  acting  as  a 
judge  in  virtue  of  the  royal  commission,  did  not  scruple  to  pros- 
titute the  dignity  of  his  function  by  finding  Gasca  guilty  of  trea- 


724  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

son,  and  condemning  him  to  death  on  that  account.  Wild  and 
even  ridiculous  as  this  proceeding  was,  it  imposed  on  the  low, 
illiterate  adventurers,  with  whom  Peru  was  filled,  by  the  semblance 
of  a  legal  sanction  warranting  Pizarro  to  carry  on  hostilities  against 
a  convicted  traitor.  Soldiers  accordingly  resorted  from  every 
quarter  to  his  standard,  and  he  was  soon  at  the  head  of  a  thousand 
men,  the  best  equipped  that  had  ever  taken  the  field  in  Peru. 

Gasca,  on  his  part,  perceiving  that  force  must  be  employed 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  his  mission,  was  no  less 
assiduous  in  collecting  troops  from  Nicaragua,  Carthagena,  and 
other  settlements  on  the  continent ;  and  with  such  success,  that 
he  was  soon  in  a  condition  to  detach  a  squadron  of  his  fleet,  with 
a  considerable  body  of  soldiers,  to  the  coast  of  Peru  [April]. 
Their  appearance  excited  a  dreadful  alarm ;  and  though  they  did 
not  attempt  for  some  time  to  make  any  descent,  they  did  more 
effectual  service  by  setting  ashore  in  different  places  persons  who 
dispersed  copies  of  the  act  of  general  indemnity,  and  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  late  edicts ;  and  who  made  known  everywhere  the 
pacific  intentions,  as  well  as  mild  temper,  of  the  president.  The 
effect  of  spreading  this  information  was  wonderful.  All  who  were 
dissatisfied  with  Pizarro's  violent  administration,  all  who  retained 
any  sentiments  of  fidelity  to  their  sovereign,  began  to  meditate 
revolt.  Some  openly  deserted  a  cause  which  they  now  deemed  to 
be  unjust.  Centeno,  leaving  the  cave  in  which  he  lay  concealed, 
assembled  about  fifty  of  his  former  adherents,  and  with  this  feeble, 
half-armed  band,  advanced  boldly  to  Cuzco.  By  a  sudden  attack 
in  the  night-time,  in  which  he  displayed  no  less  military  skill  than 
valor,  be  rendered  himself  master  of  that  capital,  though  defended 
by  a  garrison  of  five  hundred  men.  Most  of  these  having  ranged 
themselves  under  his  banners,  he  had  soon  the  command  of  a  re- 
spectable body  of  troops. 

Pizarro,  though  astonished  at  beholding  one  enemy  approach- 
ing by  sea,  and  another  by  land,  at  a  time  when  he  trusted  to  the 
union  of  all  Peru  in  his  favor,  was  of  a  spirit  more  undaunted,  and 
more  accustomed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  than  to  be  discon- 
certed or  appalled.  As  the  danger  from  Centeno's  operations  was 
the  most  urgent,  he  instantly  set  out  to  oppose  him.  Having  pro- 
vided horses  for  all  his  soldiers,  he  marched  with  amazing  rapidity. 
But  every  morning  he  found  his  force  diminished,  by  numbers  who 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    TERU. 


725 


had  left  him  during  the  night ;  and  though  he  became  suspicious 
to  excess,  and  punished  without  mercy  all  whom  he  suspected,  the 
rage  of  desertion  was  too  violent  to  be 
checked.  Before  he  got  within  sight  of 
the  enemy  at  Huarina,  near  the  Lake  of 
Titicaca,  he  could  not  muster  more  than 
four  hundred  soldiers.  But  these  he  justly 
considered  as  men  of  tried  attachment,  on 
whom  he  might  depend.  They  were  in- 
deed the  boldest  and  most  desperate  of  his 
followers,  conscious,  like  himself,  of  crimes 
for  which  they  could  hardly  expect  for- 
giveness, and  without  any  hope  but  in  the 
success  of  their  arms.  With  these  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  attack  Centeno's  troops 
[Oct.  20],  though  double  to  his  own  in 
number.  The  royalists  did  not  decline 
the  combat.  It  was  the  most  obstinate  and  bloody  that  had  hitherto 
been  fought  in  Peru.  At  length  the  intrepid  valor  of  Pizarro,  and 
the  superiority  of  Carvajal's  military  talents,  triumphed  over  num- 
bers, and  obtained  a  complete  victory.  The  booty  was  immense, 
and  the  treatment  of  the  vanquished  cruel.  By  this  signal  success 
the  reputation  of  Pizarro  was  re-established  ;  and  being  now  deemed 
invincible  in  the  field,  his  army  increased  daily  in  number. 


Cirlo  &  Dunl&p  Cla. 


PIZARRO'S   VALOR,  AND    CARVAJAl'S    SUPERIOR    MltlTARV    TALENTS,  GAIN    THE   VICTORY    OVER   CENTENO    AT    HUARINA. 


TJottle-shaped  guurd,  with  in- 
cised and  red  colored  ornaments. 

In  the  case  of  the  larger  one, 
its  upper  half  used  in  place  -of  a 
lid  or  covering. 


HEAD  COVERING  (TENDEMA) 

into  which  the  feather  pan- 
ache was  inserted. 

FLAG-STAFF 

with  red  and  black  wool  tas- 
sel; attached  to  it,  the  cloth 
in  which  it  was  wrapped,  to 
keep  it  dust  free  in  the  grave. 


TABLET 

made  from  reeds,  over  which 
a  woven  cotton  fabric  is 
stretched  on  which  the  fig- 
ure of  a  human  being  is  de- 
lineated. Used  in  place  of 
our  modern  tombstones. 


PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES    FROM    THE    NECROPOLIS    AT    ANCON    (STUEBEL    AND    REIS). 


CHAPTER    LXXII. 


LANDING  OF  GASCA   IN    PERU.     EXECUTION    OF    PIZARRO.     DIVISION   OF  THE   COUNTRY   AND 

RETURN    OF   GASCA  TO   SPAIN. 


UT  events  happened  in  other  parts  of  Peru, 
which  more  than  counter  balanced  the  splendid 
victory  at  Huarina.  Pizarro  had  scarcely  left 
Lima,  when  the  citizens,  weary  of  his  oppress- 
ive dominion,  erected  the  royal  standard,  and 
Aldana,  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers  from  the 
fleet,  took  possession  of  the  town.  About  the 
same  time,  Gasca  landed  at  Tumbez  with  five 
hundred  men.  Encouraged  by  his  presence, 
every  settlement  in  the  low  country  declared  for 
the  king.  The  situation  of  the  two  parties  was 
now  perfectly  reversed  ;  Cuzco  and  the  adjacent  provinces  were  pos- 
sessed by  Pizarro  ;  all  the  rest  of  the  empire,  from  Quito  south- 
ward, acknowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  the  president.  As  his 
numbers  augmented  fast,  Gasca  advanced  into  the  interior  part  of 
the  country.  His  behavior  still  continued  to  be  gentle  and  unas- 
suming ;  he  expressed,  on  every  occasion,  his  ardent  wish  of  ter- 
minating the  contest  without  bloodshed.  More  solicitous  to  reclaim 
than  to  punish,  he  upbraided  no  man  for  past  offenses,  but  received 
them  as  a  father  receives  penitent  children  returning  to  a  sense  of 


CARVAJAL. 


(726) 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


727 


their  duty.  Though  desirous  of  peace,  he  did  not  slacken  his  prep- 
arations for  war.  He  appointed  the  general  rendezvous  of  his  troops 
in  the  fertile  valley  of  Xauxa,  on  the  road  to  Cuzco.  There  he 
remained  for  some  months,  not  only  that  he  might  have  time  to 
make  another  attempt  towards  an  accommodation  with  Pizarro, 
but  that  he  might  train  his  new  soldiers  to  the  use  of  arms,  and 
accustom  them  to  the  discipline  of  a  camp,  before  he  led  them 
against  a  body  of  victorious  veterans.  Pizarro,  intoxicated  with 
the  success  which  had  hitherto  accompanied  his  arms,  and  elated 
with  having  again  near  a  thousand  men  under  his  command, 
refused  to  listen  to  any  terms,  although  Cepeda,  together  with 
several  of  his  officers,  and  even  Carvajal  himself,  gave  it  as  their 
advice,  to  close  with  the 
president's  offer  of  a  gen- 
eral indemnity,  and  the 
revocation  of  the  obnoxi- 
ous laws.  Gasca,  having 
tried  in  vain  every  ex- 
pedient to  avoid  imbruing 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of 
his  couutr3'inen,  began  to 
move  towards  Cuzco  [Dec. 
29]  at  the  head  of  sixteen 
hundred  men. 

Pizarro,  confident  of 
victory,  suffered  the  roy- 
alists to  pass  all  the  rivers  which  lie  between  Guamanga  and  Cuzco 
without  opposition  [1548],  and  to  advance  within  four  leagues  of  that 
capital,  flattering  himself  that  a  defeat  in  such  a  situation  as  ren- 
dered escape  impracticable  would  at  once  terminate  the  war.  He 
then  marched  out  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  Carvajal  chose  his  ground, 
and  made  the  disposition  of  the  troops  with  the  discerning  eye  and 
profound  knowledge  in  the  art  of  war  conspicuous  in  all  his  op- 
erations. As  the  two  armies  moved  forward  slowly  to  the  charge 
[April  9],  the  appearance  of  each  was  singular.  In  that  of  Pizarro, 
composed  of  men  enriched  with  the  spoils  of  the  most  opulent 
•country  in  America,  every  officer,  and  almost  all  the  private  men, 
were  clothed  in  stuffs  of  silk,  or  brocade,  embroidered  with  gold 
and   silver;    and   their  horses,    their  arms,    their   standards,    were 


THE    INCA    GATE   AT    CUZCO. 


72S  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

adorned  with  all  the  pride  of  military  pomp.  That  of  Gasca, 
though  not  so  splendid,  exhibited  what  was  no  less  striking.  He 
himself,  accompanied  by  the  archbishop  of  Lima,  the  bishops  of 
Quito  and  Cuzco,  and  a  great  number  of  ecclesiastics,  marching 
along  the  lines,  blessing  the  men,  and  encouraging  them  to  a  reso- 
lute discharge  of  their  dut}\ 

When  both  armies  were  just  ready  to  engage,  Cepeda  set 
spurs  to  his  horse,  galloped  off,  and  surrendered  himself  to  the 
president.  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  and  other  officers  of  note,  fol- 
lowed his  example.  The  revolt  of  persons  in  such  high  rank 
struck  all  with  amazement.  The  mutual  confidence  on  which  the 
union  and  strength  of  armies  depend,  ceased  at  once.  Distrust 
and  consternation  spread  from  rank  to  rank.  Some  silently 
slipped  away,  others  threw  down  their  arms,  the  greatest  number 
went  over  to  the  royalists.  Pizarro,  Carvajal,  and  some  leaders, 
employed  authority,  threats,  and  entreaties,  to  stop  them,  but  in 
vain.  In  less  than  half  an  hour,  a  body  of  men,  which  might  have 
decided  the  fate  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  was  totally  dispersed. 
Pizarro,  seeing  all  irretrievably  lost,  cried  out  in  amazement  to  a 
few  officers  who  still  faithfully  adhered  to  him,  "  What  remains  for 
us  to  do?"  "Let  us  rush,"  replied  one  of  them,  "upon  the  en- 
emy's firmest  battalion,  and  die  like  Romans."  Dejected  with 
such  a  reverse  of  fortune,  he  had  not  spirit  to  follow  this  soldierly 
counsel,  and,  with  a  tameness  disgraceful  to  his  former  fame,  he 
surrendered  to  one  of  Gasca's  officers.  Carvajal,  endeavoring  to 
escape,  was  overtaken  and  seized. 

Gasca,  happy  in  this  bloodless  victory,  did  not  stain  it  with 
cruelty.  Pizarro,  Carvajal,  and  a  small  number  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished and  notorious  offenders,  were  punished  capitally.  Pi- 
zarro was  beheaded  the  day  after  he  surrendered.  He  submitted 
to  his  fate  with  a  composed  dignity,  and  seemed  desirous  to  atone 
by  repentance  for  the  crimes  which  he  had  committed.  The  end 
of  Carvajal  was  suitable  to  his  life.  On  his  trial  he  offered  no  de- 
fense. When  the  sentence  adjudging  him  to  be  beheaded  was  pro- 
nounced, he  carelessly  replied,  "  One  can  die  but  once."  During 
the  interval  between  the  sentence  and  execution,  he  discovered  no 
sign  either  of  remorse  for  the  past,  or  of  solicitude  about  the  fu- 
ture ;  scoffing  at  all  who  visited  him,  in  his  usual  sarcastic  vein 
of  mirth,  with  the  same  quickness  of  repartee  and  gross  pleasantry 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 


729 


THE    END    OF    CAHVAJAL. 


as  at  any  other  period  of  his  life.  Cepeda,  more  criminal  than 
either,  ought  to  have  shared  the  same  fate ;  but  the  merit  of  hav- 
ing deserted  his  associates  at  such  a  criti-  -■-.*..-,-•  *l-«  • 
cal  moment,  and  with  such  decisive  effect, 
saved  him  from  immediate  punishment. 
He  was  sent,  however,  as  a  prisoner  to 
Spain,  and  died  in  confinement. 

In  the  minute  details  which  the  con- 
temporary historians  have  given  of  the 
civil  dissensions  that  raged  in  Peru,  with 
little  interruption,  during  ten  years,  many 
circumstances  occur  so  striking,  and 
which  indicate  such  an  uncommon  state 
of  manners,  as  to  merit  particular  atten- 
tion. 

Though  the  Spaniards  who  first  invaded  Peru  were  of  the 
lowest  order  in  society,  and  the  greater  part  of  those  who  after- 
wards joined  them  were  persons  of  desperate  fortune,  yet  in  all 
the  bodies  of  troops  brought  into  the  field  by  the  different  leaders 
who  contended  for  superiority,  not  one  man  acted  as  a  hired  sol- 
dier, that  follows  his  standard  for  pay.  Every  adventurer  in  Peru 
considered  himself  as  a  conqueror,  entitled,  by  his  services,  to  an 
establishment  in  that  country  which  had  been  acquired  by  his 
valor.  In  the  contests  between  the  rival  chiefs,  each  chose  his 
side  as  he  was  directed  by  his  own  judgment  or  affections.  He 
joined  his  commander  as  a  companion  of  his  fortunes,  and  dis- 
dained to  degrade  himself  by  receiving  the  wages  of  a  mercenary. 
It  was  to  their  sword,  not  to  the  pre-eminence  in  office,  or  nobility 
of  birth,  that  most  of  the  leaders  whom  they  followed  were  in- 
debted for  their  elevation ;  and  each  of  their  adherents  hoped,  by 
the  same  means,  to  open  a  way  for  himself  to  the  possession  of 
power  and  wealth. 

But  though  the  troops  in  Peru  served  without  any  regular 
pay,  they  were  raised  at  immense  expense.  Among  men  accus- 
tomed to  divide  the  spoils,  of  an  opulent  country,  the  desire  of  ob- 
taining wealth  acquired  incredible  force.  The  ardor  of  pursuit 
augmented  in  proportion  to  the  hope  of  success.  Where  all  were 
intent  on  the  same  object,  and  under  the  dominion  of  the  same 
passion,  there  was   but  one   mode  of  gaining  men,  or  of  securing 


73°  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

their  attachment.  Officers  of  name  and  influence,  besides  the 
promise  of  future  establishments,  received  in  hand  large  gratuities 
from  the  chiefs  with  whom  they  engaged.  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  in  order 
to  raise  1,000  men,  advanced  five  hundred  thousand  pesos.  Gasca 
expended  in  levying  the  troops  which  he  led  against  Pizarro  nine 
hundred  thousand  pesos.  The  distribution  of  property,  bestowed 
as  the  reward  of  services,  was  still  more  exorbitant.  Cepeda,  as 
the  recompense  of  his  perfidy  and  address,  in  persuading  the  court 
of  royal  audience  to  give  the  sanction  of  its  authority  to  the 
usurped  jurisdiction  of  Pizarro,  received  a  grant  of  lands  which 
yielded  an  annual  income  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pesos. 
Hinojosa,  who  by  his  early  defection  from  Pizarro,  and  surrender 
of  the  fleet  to  Gasca,  decided  the  fate  of  Peru,  obtained  a  district 
of  country  affording  two  hundred  thousand  pesos  of  }^early  value. 
While  such  rewards  were  dealt  out  to  the  principal  officers,  with 
more  than  royal  munificence,  proportional  shares  were  conferred 
upon  those  of  inferior  rank. 

Such  a  rapid  change  of  fortune  produced  its  natural  effects. 
It  gave  birth  to  new  wants,  and  new  desires.  Veterans,  long  accus- 
tomed to  hardships  and  toil,  acquired  of  a  sudden  a  taste  for  profuse 
and  inconsiderate  dissipation,  and  indulged  in  all  the  excesses  of 
military  licentiousness.  The  riot  of  low  debauchery  occupied  some  ; 
a  relish  for  expensive  luxuries  spread  among  others.  The  meanest 
soldier  in  Peru  would  have  thought  himself  degraded  by  marching 
on  foot ;  and  at  a  time  when  the  prices  of  horses  in  that  country 
were  exorbitant,  each  insisted  on  being  furnished  with  one  before 
he  would  take  the  field.  But  though  less  patient  under  the  fatigues 
and  hardships  of  service,  they  were  ready  to  face  danger  and  death 
with  as  much  intrepidity  as  ever;  and  animated  by  the  hope  of 
new  rewards,  they  never  failed,  on  the  day  of  battle,  to  display  all 
their  ancient  valor. 

Together  with  their  courage,  they  retained  all  the  ferocity  by 
which  they  were  originally  distinguished.  Civil  discord  never 
raged  with  a  more  .fell  spirit  than  among  the  Spaniards  in  Peru- 
To  all  the  passions  which  usually  envenom  contests  among  coun- 
trymen, avarice  was  added,  and  rendered  their  enmit}^  more  rancor- 
ous. Eagerness  to  seize  the  valuable  forfeitures,  expected  upon 
the  death  of  every  opponent,  shut  the  door  against  mercy.  To  be 
wealthy  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  expose  a  man  to  accusation,  or  to 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU. 


73* 


subject  him  to  punishment.  On  the  slightest  suspicions,  Pizarro 
condemned  many  of  the  most  opulent  inhabitants  in  Peru  to  death. 
Carvajal,  without  searching  for  any  pretext  to  justify  his  cruelty, 
cut  off  many  more.  The  number  of  those  who  suffered  by  the 
hands  of  the  executioner,  was  not  much  inferior  to  what  fell  in  the 
field ;  and  the  greater  part  was  condemned  without  the  formality  of 
any  legal  trial. 

The  violence  with  which  the  contending  parties  treated  their 
opponents  was  not  accompanied  with  its  usual  attendants,  attach- 
ment, and  fidelity  to  those  with  whom  they  acted.  The  ties  of 
honor,  which  ought  to  be  held  sacred  among  soldiers,  and  the 
principle  of  integrity  interwoven  as  thoroughly  in  the  Spanish 
character  as  in  that  of  any  nation,  seem  to  have  been  equally  for- 
gotten. Even  regard  for  decency,  and  the  sense  of  shame,  were 
totally  lost.  During  their  dissensions,  there  was  hardly  a  Spaniard 
in  Peru  who  did  not  abandon  the  party  which  he  had  originally  es- 
poused, betray  the  associates  with  whom  he  had  united,  and  violate 
the  engagements  under  which  he  had  come.  The  viceroy  Nunez 
Vela  was  ruined  by  the  treachery  of  Cepeda  and  the  other  judges 
of  the  royal  audience,  who  were  bound  by  the  duties  of  their  func- 
tion to  have  supported  his  authority.  The  chief  advisers  and  com- 
panions of  Gonzalo  Pizarro's  revolt  were  the  first  to  forsake  him, 
and  submit  to  his  enemies.  His  fleet  was  given  up  to  Gasca  by 
the  man  whom  he  had  singled  out  among  his  officers  to  intrust 
with  that  important  command.  On  the  day  that  was  to  decide  his 
fate,  an  army  of  veterans,  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  threw  down  their 
arms  without  striking  a  blow,  and  deserted  a  leader  who  had  often 
conducted  them  to  victory.  Instances  of  such  general  and  avowed 
contempt  of  the  principles  and  obligations  which  attach  man  to 
man,  and  bind  them  together  in  social  union,  rarely 
occur  in  history.  It  is  only  when  men  are  far  removed 
from  the  seat  of  government,  where  the  restraints  of  law 
and  order  are  little  felt,  where  the  prospect  of  gain  is  un- 
bounded, and  where  immense  wealth 
may  cover  the  crimes  by  which  it  is  ac- 
quired, that  we  can  find  any  parallel  to 
the  levity,  the  rapaciousness,  the  per- 
fidy, and  corruption  prevalent  among 
the  Spaniards  in  Peru. 


THE  ADHERENTS  OF   PIZARRO  AT  THE    BIER  OF  THE   DECAPITATED  CHIEFTAIN 


732  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

On  the  death  of  Pizarro,  the  malcontents  in  every  corner  of 
Peru  laid  down  their  arms,  and  tranquillity  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
re-established.  But  two  very  interesting  objects  still  remained  to 
occupy  the  president's  attention.  The  one  was  to  find  immediately 
such  employment  for  a  multitude  of  turbulent  and  daring  advent- 
urers, with  which  the  country  was  filled,  as  might  prevent  them 
from  exciting  new  commotions.  The  other,  to  bestow  proper  grat- 
ifications upon  those  to  whose  loyalty  and  valor  he  had  been  in- 
debted for  his  success.  The  former  of  these  was  in  some  measure 
accomplished  by  appointing  Pedro  de  Valdivia  to  prosecute  the 
conquest  of  Chili;  and  by  empowering  Diego  Centeno  to  undertake 
the  discovery  of  the  vast  regions  bordering  on  the  river  de  la  Plata. 
The  reputation  of  those  leaders,  together  with  the  hopes  of  acquir- 
ing wealth,  and  of  rising  to  consequence  in  some  unexplored  coun- 
try, alluring  many  of  the  most  indigent  and  desperate  soldiers  to 
follow  their  standards,  drained  off  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  that 
mutinous  spirit  which  Gasca  dreaded. 

The  latter  was  an  affair  of  greater  difficult}-,  and  to  be  adjusted 
with  a  more  attentive  and  delicate  hand.  The  repartimientos,  or 
allotments  of  lands  and  Indians  which  fell  to  be  distributed,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  death  or  forfeiture  of  the  former  possessors,  ex- 
ceeded two  millions  of  pesos  of  yearly  rent.  Gasca,  when  now  ab- 
solute master  of  this  immense  property,  retained  the  same  disinter- 
ested sentiments  which  he  had  originally  professed,  and  refused  to 
reserve  the  smallest  portion  of  it  for  himself.  But  the  number  of 
claimants  was  great ;  and  whilst  the  vanity  or  avarice  of  every  in- 
dividual fixed  the  value  of  his  own  services,  and  estimated  the  re- 
compense which  he  thought  due  to  him,  the  pretensions  of  each 
were  so  extravagant  that  it  was  impossible  to  satisfy  all.  Gasca 
listened  to  them  one  by  one,  with  the  most  patient  attention  ;  and 
that  he  might  have  leisure  to  weigh  the  comparative  merit  of  their 
several  claims  with  accuracy,  he  retired,  with  the  archbishop  of 
Lima  and  a  single  secretary,  to  a  village  twelve  leagues  from  Cuzco. 
There  he  spent  several  days  in  alloting  to  each  a  district  of  lands 
and  number  of  Indians,  in  proportion  to  his  idea  of  their  past  serv- 
ices and  future  importance.  But  that  he  might  get  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  fierce  storm  of  clamor  and  rage,  which  he  foresaw 
would  burst  out  on  the  publication  of  his  decree,  notwithstanding 
the  impartial  equity  with  which  he  had  framed  it,  he  set  out  for 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    PERU.  733 

Lima,  leaving  the   instrument  of  partition  sealed  up,  with  orders 
not  to  open  it  for  some  days  after  his  departure. 

The  indignation  excited  by  publishing  the  decree  of  partition 
[Aug.  24]  was  not  less  than  Gasca  had  expected.  Vanity,  avarice, 
emulation,  envy,  shame,  rage,  and  all  the  other  passions  which  most 
vehemently  agitate  the  minds  of  men  when  both  their  honor  and 
their  interest  are  deeply  affected,  conspired  in  adding  to  its  vio- 
lence. It  broke  out  with  all  the  fury  of  military  insolence.  Ca- 
lumny, threats,  and  curses,  were  poured  out  openly  upon  the  pres- 
ident. He  was  accused  of  ingratitude,  of  partiality,  and  of  injust- 
ice. Among  soldiers  prompt  to  action,  such  seditious  discourse 
would  have  been  soon  followed  by  deeds  no  less  violent,  and  they 
already  began  to  turn  their  eyes  towards  some  discontented  lead- 
ers, expecting  them  to  stand  forth  in  redress  of  their  wrongs.  By 
some  vigorous  interpositions  of  government,  a  timely  check  was 
given  to  this  mutinous  spirit,  and  the  danger  of  another  civil  war 
was  averted  for  the  present. 

1549.]  Gasca,  however,  perceiving  that  the  flame  was  sup- 
pressed rather  than  extinguished,  labored  with  the  utmost  assidu- 
ity to  soothe  the  malcontents,  by  bestowing  large  gratuities  on 
some,  by  promising  repartimientos,  when  they  fell  vacant,  to  others, 
and  by  caressing  and  flattering  all.  But  that  the  public  security 
might  rest  on  a  foundation  more  stable  than  their  good  affection, 
he  endeavored  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  his  successors  in  office, 
by  re-establishing  the  regular  administration  of  justice  in  every 
part  of  the  empire.  He  introduced  order  and  simplicity  into  the 
mode  of  collecting  the  royal  revenue.  He  issued  regulations  con- 
cerning the  treatment  of  the  Indians,  well  calculated  to  protect 
them  from  oppression,  and  to  provide  for  their  instruction  in  the 
principles  of  religion,  without  depriving  the  Spaniards  of  the  ben- 
efit accruing  from  their  labor.  Having  now  accomplished  every 
object  of  his  mission,  Gasca,  longing  to  return  again  to  a  private 
station,  committed  the  government  of  Peru  to  the  court  of  audi- 
ence, and  set  out  for  Spain  [Feb.  1,  1550].  As,  during  the  anarchy 
and  turbulence  of  the  four  last  years,  there  had  been  no  remittance 
made  of  the  royal  revenue,  he  carried  with  him  thirteen  hundred 
thousand  pesos  of  public  money,  which  the  economy  and  order  of 
his  administration  enabled  him  to  save,  after  paying  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war. 

4i 


734  THE   CONQUEST   OF   PERU. 

He  was  received  in  his  native  country  with  universal  admira- 
tion of  his  abilities,  and  of  his  virtue.     Both  were,  indeed,  highly 
conspicuous.    Without  army,  or  fleet,  or  public  funds  ;  with  a  train 
so  simple,  that  only  three  thousand  ducats  were  expended  in  equip- 
ping him,   he  set  out  to  oppose  a  formidable  rebellion.      By  his 
address  and  talents  he  supplied  all  those  defects,   and  seemed  to 
create  instruments  for  executing  his  designs.     He  acquired  such  a 
naval  force  as  gave  him  the  command  of  the  sea.     He  raised  a  body 
of  men  able  to  cope  with  the  veteran  bands  which  gave  law  to  Peru. 
He  vanquished  their  leader,  on  whose  arms  victory  had  hitherto 
attended,  and  in  place  of  anarchy  and  usurpation,  he  established 
the  government  of  laws,  and  the  authority  of  the  rightful  sover- 
eign.    But  the  praise  bestowed  on  his   abilities  was   exceeded  by 
that  which  his  virtue  merited.     After  residing  in  a  country  where 
wealth  presented  allurements  which  had  seduced  every  person  who 
had  hitherto  possessed  power  there,  he  returned  from  that  trying 
station  with  integrity  not  only  untainted,  but  unsuspected.     After 
distributing  among  his  countrymen  possessions  of  greater  extent 
and  value  than  had  ever  been  in  the  disposal  of  a  subject  in  any 
age  or  nation,  he  himself  remained  in  his  original  state  of  poverty  ; 
and  at  the  very  time  when  he  brought  such  a  large  recruit  to  the 
royal  treasury,  he  was  obliged  to  apply  by  petition  for  a  small  sum 
to  discharge  some  petty  debts,  which  he  had  contracted  during  the 
course  of  his  service'.     Charles  was  not  insensible  to  such  disinter- 
ested merit.    Gasca  was  received  by  him  with  the  most  distinguish- 
ing marks   of  esteem ;   and   being   promoted   to   the  bishopric   of 
Palencia,  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  tranquillity 
of  retirement,  respected  by  his  country,  honored  by  his  sovereign, 
and  beloved  by  all. 

Notwithstanding  all  Gasca's  wise  regulations,  the  tranquillity 
of  Peru  was  not  of  long  continuance.  In  a  country  where  the 
authority  of  government  had  been  almost  forgotten,  during  the 
long  prevalence  of  anarchy  and  misrule,  where  there  were  disap- 
pointed leaders  ripe  for  revolt,  and  seditious  soldiers  ready  to  fol- 
low them,  it  was  not  difficult  to  raise  combustion.  Several  suc- 
cessive insurrections  desolated  the  country  for  some  years.  But 
as  those,  though  fierce,  were  only  transient  storms,  excited  rather 
by  the  ambition  and  turbulence  of  particular  men,  than  by  general 
or  public  motives,  the  detail  of  them  is  not  the  object  of  this  his- 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU.  735 

tory.  These  commotions  in  Peru,  like  every  thing  of  extreme 
violence,  either  in  the  natural  or  political  body,  were  not  of  long 
duration ;  and  by  carrying  off  the  corrupted  humors  which  had 
given  rise  to  the  disorders,  they  contributed  in  the  end  to  strengthen 
the  society  which  at  first  the}-  threatened  to  destroy.  During  their 
fierce  contests,  several  of  the  first  invaders  of  Peru,  and  many  of 
those  licentious  adventurers  whom  the  fame  of  their  success  had 
allured  thither,  fell  by  each  other's  hands.  Each  of  the  parties,  as 
they  alternately  prevailed  in  the  struggle,  gradually  cleared  the 
country  of  a  number  of  turbulent  spirits,  by  executing,  proscrib- 
ing, or  banishing  their  opponents.  Men  less  enterprising,  less 
desperate,  and  more  accustomed  to  move  in  the  paths  of  sober  and 
peaceable  industry,  settled  in  Peru  ;  and  the  royal  authority  was 
gradually  established  as  firmly  there  as  in  the  other  Spanish  col- 
onies. "*rr- 

The  following  note  is  called  for,  first :  By  the  descriptive  title  under  the 
picture  of  the  mummies  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon,  page  630,  wherein  Mr. 
Prescott  is  quoted,  and  makes  the  statement :  that  human  sacrifices  were  performed 
during  the  reign  of  the  Incas.  Second :  By  the  charge  brought  forward  by  the 
accusers  of  the  unfortunate  Atahualpa  (page  661)  that  he  commanded  the  offer- 
ing of  human  sacrifices  ;  and  third,  by  the  sub-title  of  the  illustration  on  page 
659 :  above  one  thousand  victims  being  doomed  to  accompany  his  father,  Huana  Capac, 
to  the  tomb,  also  cited  by  Prescott,  "Conquest  of  Peru,"  Vol.  I,  Chapter  I.,  upon 
the  strength  of  which  the  illustration  is  based. 

Note. — The  Inca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  in  his  Comentarios  Reales  Liber  III, 
Chap,  xx,  declares  most  positively  that  the  Inca  people  "  worshipped  no  other  gods 
but  the  sun,  although  there  are  not  wanting  persons  who  state  the  contrary." 
The  public  worship  was  a  Sun-worship.  Some  reverence  was  paid  to  the 
moon,  the  three  brightest  planets,  and  the  Pleiades,  but  this  was  but  acces- 
sory to  the  adoration  of  the  orb  of  day.  This  worship  was  celebrated  chiefly 
at  four  great  festivals  at  the  solstices  and  equinoxes  each  year.  At  these  festi- 
vals there  were  sacrifices  of  llamas  or  alpacas,  and  their  lambs;  rabbits,  birds, 
maize  (corn),  the  strength  sustaining  herb  coca,  the  exhilarating  chica,  or  maize 
beer,  and  of  fine  cloths.  As  for  human  sacrifices,  Garcilasso  assures  us,  and 
with  evident  knowledge  of  the  subject,  that  there  was  nothing  of  the  sort  under 
the  Incas.  In  the  times  before  the  Inca  supremacy,  and  among  many  of  the 
peoples  whom  the  Incas  conquered,  there  were  human  sacrifices  accompanied  by 
cannibalism ;  but  both  these  practices  were  sternly  suppressed  by  the  Incas.  If 
some  Spanish  writers  assert  that  there  were  human  sacrifices  in  Peru,  it  shows 
that  they  do  not  exercise  proper  discrimination.  Within  the  vast  Inca  dominion 
there  were  included  a  number  of  peoples  with  whom  such  sacrifices  had  long 
been  customary,  and  it  might  well  be  that  the  Incas  had  not  completely  suc- 
ceeded in  stamping  out  the  abomination.     "I  am  witness,"  says  the  good  Gar- 


736  THE    CONQUEST    OF    PERU. 

cilasso,  "  to  having  heard  my  father  (his  father  was  a  Spaniard,  his  mother  of 
Inca  blood)  and  his  contemporaries  frequently  compare  the  states  of  Mexico  and 
Peru ;  and  in  speaking  of  these  sacrifices  of  men,  and  of  the  practice  of  eating  hu- 
man flesh,  thej-  praised  the  Inoas  of  Peru,  because  they  neither  practised  nor  per- 
mitted such  acts."  Mr.  Prescott  (.Conquest  of  Peru,  Book  I,  Chapter  3)  was  in- 
clined to  admit  that  human  sacrifices  were  performed,  though  very  rarely,  under 
the  Incas,  and  quoted  five  contemporary  authorities  ( including  Cieza)  against 
Garcilasso.  But  Mr.  Markham  has  shown  that  Cieza  and  others  were  misled  by 
supposing  that  the  words  yuyae  and  huaJiua  signified  "  men  "  and  "  children,'' 
whereas,  as  applied  to  the  victims  of  sacrifice,  these  words  signified  "  adult 
beasts"  and  "lambs."  Mr.  Markham  also  quotes  seven  other  important  con- 
temporary authorities  (not  mentioned  by  Prescott),  in  support  of  Garcilasso;  so 
that  the  question  appears  to  be  settled  in  his  favor. 

The  duties  and  ceremonies  of  the  Sun-worship  were  in  charge  of  quite  a  hier- 
archy of  ministering  priests,  confessors,  sacrificers,  hermits,  and  soothsayers,  at 
the  head  of  all  the  high  priest,  or  "Villac  Umu  ,"  and  above  him  the  Inca.  The 
ministering  priests  received  confessions  and  served  as  mouth-pieces  of  oracles. 
The  hermits  dwelt  in  solitary  places,  and  were,  in  some  instances  if  not  always, 
organized  into  a  kind  of  celibate  monastic  brotherhood,  with  a  chief  hermit  at 
the  head. 

To  these  remarkable  coincidences,  with  various  customs  in  the  Old  World  may 
be  added  the  coincidence  of  the  keeping  of  the  sacred  fire.  Each  year  at  the 
autumnal  equinox  a  new  fire  was  kindled  by  collecting  the  sun's  rays  on  a  burn- 
ished mirror,  and  this  fire  was  kept  alive  through  the  year  by  consecrated  maid- 
ens {aclla-cuna)  analagous  to  the  Roman  vestal  nuns.  These  vestals  lived  in 
convents  presided  over  by  matrons  (mama-cuna.)  If  the  fire  happened  to  go  out 
it  was  an  evil  omen.  If  a  nun  broke  her  vow  of  chastity  she  was  buried  alive, 
just  as  in  Rome.  The  Peruvian  system  of  vestal-nuns  was  a  much  more  exten- 
sive affair  than  in  Rome.  In  Rome  there  were  six  priestesses  of  Vesta,  who  were 
treated  with  most  signal  deference.  In  Peru  an  aclla-cuna  was  treated  with 
much  deference,  as  a  kind  of  superior  being,  but  the  number  of  them  was  very 
large,  every  temple  of  the  Sun  generally  had  such  a  convent  attached  to  it. 
Their  vow  of  perpetual  celibacy  meant  that  the}-  were  the  Sun's  wives ;  whence  it 
was  quite  natural  that  the  punishment  for  infidelity  should  be  burial  in  the  dark 
grave  out  of  the  offended  husband's  sight.  The  Inca  as  representative  of  the 
Sun,  was  husband  of  all  these  consecrated  women.  The  Inca  did  not  visit  them, 
but  sent  and  took  from  them  as  many  concubines  as  he  wished ;  those  who  were 
not  thus  taken  remained  virgins.  It  was  absolutely  required  that  the  nuns  at 
Cuzco  should  be  of  pure  Inca  blood  ;  and  as  every  reigning  Inca  had  two  or  three 
hundred  enumerated  children,  the  race  seemed  to  be  in  no  danger  of  dying  out. 

The  Inca  was  regarded  as  the  human  representative  or  incarnation  of  the 
solar  deity.  He  was  the  Sun.  made  flesh  and  dwelling  among  men.  Great  pains 
were  taken  to  keep  the  lineage  of  this  august  person  as  narrowly  definite  as  pos- 
sible. The  Inca  could  have  but  one  legitimate  wife,  and  it  was  imperatively  re- 
quired that  she  should  be  his  full  sister — the  child  of  the  same  father  by  the 
same  mother.  The  children  of  the  Inca  by  this  incestuous  marriage,  were  thus  as 
completely  and  narrowly  royal  in  blood  as  possible,  and  the  eldest  Son  was  the 
legitimate  heir  to  the  kingdom. — Extracts  from  John  Fiske's  "  The  Discovery  of 
America."     Vol.  II.  pages.  340 — 347. 


BOOK  IV. 


'3') 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

After  the  engraving  by  the  Baron  Desnoyers,  made  by  him  when  Franklin  acted  as 
our  Ambassador  at  the  court  of  Versailles. 


(733) 


h  r  st  orV 

OF  THEl 

UMITtD  STATED 

COrSDEJfSEJ) 
FROA\    THE-  WORKS  OF 

BAncRon^/nA&TER"  mm 
BLAIDE- 

JOHN  STO  N-&*OTHEF\J> 

BEnjAAiin^sH  •  Mi/ErfPOF^r-es"51^ 

18 


(73y> 


Complete  History  of  the  United  States. 


VIKING    BOAT,    OR    DRAGON. 
rOUND    IN    THE    MOOR    IN    JUTLAND. 


F  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  North  America — the  races 
who  built  the  mounds  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  val- 
leys, and  the  ancient  pueblos  and  cave  dwellings  of  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico — we  have  no  knowledge  save  that 
derived  from  their  scattered  and  moldering  monuments. 
Almost  equally  shadowy  is  the  Norse  legend  that  tells 
how  Leif,  son  of  Erik,  a  Viking  rover  from  Iceland,  about 
iooo  A.  D.,  discovered,  to  the  west 
of  Greenland,  a  forest  clad  shore 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Vin- 
land.   , 

The  authentic  annals  of  Amer- 
ica begin  with  the  famous  voyage 
of  Christopher  Columbus,  "  the  most  memo- 
rable maritime  enterprise  in  the  history  of 
the  world."*  On  October  12,  1492,  Columbus,  who  had  been  dis- 
patched by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain  to  discover  a  westward 
route  from  Europe  to  Asia,  reached  one  of  the  Bahamas — probably 
Watling  Island.  Thence  he  sailed  on  to  Cuba  and  Hayti,  which  he 
believed  to  be  outlying  islands  of  southern  Asia,  and  whose  native 
inhabitants  he  called  Indians.  Wherever  he  landed  he  raised  the 
flag  of  Spain. 

The  great  discovery  of  Columbus  was  followed  up  by  other 
navigators.  In  1497  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  under  the  patron- 
age of  Henry  VII.  of  England,  found  the  continent  of  North  Amer- 
ica, "  probably  in  the  latitude  of  about  fifty-six  degrees,  along  the 
dismal  cliffs  of  Labrador."  f  They  took  possession  of  the  newly 
discovered  land  in  the  name  of  the  English  king. 

Spain  took  the  leading  part  in  the,  exploration  of  the  New 
World.     Under  her  flag  the  northern  coast  of  South  America  was 


*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States 


f  Ibid. 


(74i) 


742 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


discovered  by  Amerigo  Vespucci,  from  whom  the  continent  took 
its  name.  In  15 13  Balboa  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  Ponce 
de  Leon  found  a  land  which  he  called  Florida,  because  he  sighted 
it  "  on  Easter  Sunday,  which  the  Spaniards  .call  Pascua  Florida."  * 
Ferdinand  de  Soto,  also  in  the  Spanish  service,  discovered  the  Mis- 


BURIAL  OF  DE  SOTO  IN  THE  fELLOW  FLOODS  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


sissippi  River  in  1542,  in  the  waters  of  which  he  found  his  last 
resting  place. 

France,  too,  was  active  in  sending  out  expeditions.  In  1524 
Verrazani  coasted  from  the  Carolinas  to  New  England,  and  ten 
years  later  Jacques  Cartier  entered  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  1603 
Champlain  followed  Cartier,  and  penetrated  what  is  now  north- 
ern New  York. 

In  1609  Henry  Hudson,  sailing  under  the  flag  of  Holland, 
discovered  the  Hudson  River. 

On  these  discoveries  Spain,  England,  France,  and  Holland 
based  conflicting  claims  to  the  territory  of  the  New  World,  which 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 


Copyright  F.  Tuchfarber  &  Co.  1874. 


THE  RENOWNED  POCOHONTAS,  DAUGHTER  OF  F|V 
After  Die  drawing  by  V.  Nel 


ffT*  SAVES  THE  LIFE  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH, 
•"••^.f  owners  of  the  copyright. 
I      I 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


747 


THE  OLD  GATE  AT  ST.  AUGUSTINE,   FLORIDA. 


were  only  finally 
settled  after  nearly 
two  hundred  years, 
and  much  fighting. 

"The  United 
States  were  sever- 
ally colonized  by 
men  in  origin,  re- 
ligious faith,  and 
purposes  as  various 
as  their  climes."  * 
The  earliest  per- 
manent settlement 
in  North  America 
was  that  of  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  founded  in  1565  by  a  Spanish 
expedition  under  Pedro  Melendez. 

The  first  English  colony  was  Virginia,  whose  earliest  settlement 
was  on  Roanoke  Island,  to  which  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  took  a  body 
of  emigrants  in  1584.  Raleigh's  enterprise  proved  a  failure,  but  in 
1607  an  expedition  sent  out  by  the  London  Company  built  James- 
town, on  the  James  River.  This  plantation  prospered  under  the 
government  of  Captain  John  Smith,  Lord  De  La 
Ware,  and  their  successors.  At  Jamestown,  in 
1619,  the  first  African  slaves  brought  to  Amer- 
ica were  purchased  from  a  Dutch  vessel. 

■    New  York,  which  "united  the  richest 
lands  with  the  highest  adaptation  to  for- 
eign   and  domestic    commerce,"  f  was 
founded  by  the   Dutch,  who  shortly      Se 
after  Hudson's  voyage  planted  the 
settlement  of  New  Amsterdam  on 
Manhattan   Island,    and    Fort   Or- 
ange, now  Albany.     In  1664  these 
were  surrendered  to    the    British, 
and  the  name  of  New  Amsterdam 
was  changed  to  New  York. 

Massachusetts  was  colonized  by 
a  company  of  Puritans,  whose 

*  Bancroft's  Hist.  United  States.         f  Ibid. 


SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH. 


748 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


emigration  was  "the  result  of  implacable  differences  between  Prot- 
estant dissenters  in  England  and  the  established  Anglican  church."* 
Driven  from  England  by  religious  persecution,  they  crossed  the  At- 
lantic in  the  little  ship  Mayflower,  and  landed  at  Plymouth.      They 

were  followed  by  an- 
other bodyr,  which 
founded  Salem  and 
Charlestown.  These 
settlements  formed 
the  Massachusetts 
Bay'  colony,  origi- 
nally distinct  from 
the  Plymouth  colo- 
ny. The  former  also 
made  a  settlement  at 
Boston  in  1630. 

Hartford  and 
Windsor,  the  first 
settlements  of  Con- 
necticut, were  found- 
ed by  pioneers  from 
Massachusetts  in 
1633.  A  few  years 
later  the  infant  colo- 
nyr  passed  through  a 
severe  struggle  with 
the  Indians,  known 
historically  as  the 
Pequod  War. 

In  1636  Roger 
Williams,  a  preach- 
er of  Salem,  was  ban- 
ished from  Massa- 
chusetts for  his  independence  of  religious  belief.  He  found  refuge 
with  the  Narragansett  Indians,  and  bought  from  them  a  tract  of 
land  on  which  he  founded  the  plantation  of  Providence.  Two  years 
later  another  company  founded  Rhode  Island,  and  in  1644  the  two 
settlements  were  united. 


CHARLES    It.    OF    ENGLAND. 
PAINTING    BY    PETER    LELY.      ENGRAVED    BV    G.    VERTUE,   1736. 


*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 


HISTORY    OF    THK    UNITKH    STATUS. 


749 


Iii  1623  a  Post  was  established  near  what  is  now  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire.  This  was  united  with  the  Massachusetts  colony, 
together  with  a  few  outlying  settlements  in  Maine,  until  New 
Hampshire  was,   fifty  years  later,   created  a  separate  province. 

Maryland  was  founded  by  Leonard  Calvert,  brother  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  as  a  Roman  Catholic  colony.  The  first  settlement  was 
planted  in  1634  at  St.  Mary's,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Potomac.  A 
dispute  at  once  arose  with  Virginia, 
which,  according  to  its  charter,  "  ex- 
tended two  hundred  miles  north  of 
Old  Point  Comfort,  and  therefore  in- 
cluded the  soil  which  forms  the  State 
of  Maryland."  *  William  Clayborue, 
who  asserted  the  claim  of  Virginia, 
seized  the  government  of  the  new 
colony,  but  was  ultimately  expelled. 

Delaware  was  first  settled  by 
Swedish  emigrants,  who  established 
themselves  on  the  Delaware  River, 
below  Philadelphia,  and  named  their 
territory  New  Sweden.  Their  settle- 
ments were  captured  by  the  Dutch- 
men of  New  Amsterdam,  under  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  shortly  before  New  Am- 
sterdam was  itself  conquered  by  the 
British. 

In  1663  Charles  II.  granted  the 
land  between  Florida  and  Virginia  to 
Lord  Clarendon,  who  named  it  Caro- 
lina. Settlers  from  Virginia  had  al- 
ready planted,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chowan  River,  the  Albemarle 
colony,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  North  Carolina.  South  Carolina 
was  first  opened  up  by  the  Carteret  colony,  which  founded  Charles- 
ton in  1670.  Its  members  were  Englishmen  and  French  Hugue- 
nots. 

New  Jersey  was  claimed  by  the  Dutch  as  a  part  of  the  territory 
of  New  Amsterdam.  They  had  built  a  log  fort  at  Camden,  on  the 
Delaware,  in  1623,  Dut  the  settlement  of  the  country  began  when 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United   States. 


WILLIAM     PENN. 
AFTER  THE   PAINTING  BY  GODFREY   KNELLER  (1659-1723). 


75° 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


Charles  II.  granted  the  land  between  the  Hudson   and  Delaware 
rivers  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  in  1664. 

The  colonization  of  Pennsylvania  also  dates  from  a  grant  of 
Charles  II.,  given  to  William  Penn  in  16S1,  in  payment  of  a  debt 

due  to  his  father,  Admiral  Penn. 
Penn  laid  out  Philadelphia,  buy- 
ing the  land  from  the  Indians, 
and  bringing  to  it  two  thousand 
Quakers  from  England.  Dela- 
iV  ware  was  united  to  his  territory, 
but  was  finally  separated  from  it 
in  1703. 

The  last  of  the  thir- 
teen colonies  was  Geor- 
gia. In  1732  George  II. 
empowered  James  Ogle- 
thorpe to  found,  on  the 
tract  between  the  Savan- 
nah and  Altamaha  rivers, 
a  colony  for  those  who 
had  been  imprisoned  for 
debt.  Other  immigrants 
gathered  there,  coming 
from  Scotland  and  Ger- 
many;  and  in  1736  John 
j  and  Charles  Wesley,  the 
founders  of  Methodism, 
went  there  to  preach.  The 
colony  was  not  established 
without  hostilities  with  the 
Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine. 
But  the  northern  colonies 
'"  became  involved  in  more  serious 
wars.  The  settlers  of  New  Eng- 
land were  constantly  harassed  by 
the  Indians.  In  King  Philip's  War,  fought  in  1675,  the  power  of 
the  Wampanoags  and  Narragansetts  was  broken.  In  King  Will- 
iam's War,  which  lasted  from  1689  to  1697,  the  aborigines  were 
assisted  by  the  French. 


A    WAMPANOAG    INDIAN    IN    FULL    WAR    PAINT. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


75' 


French  colonists  had  founded  Quebec  in  1608,  and  their  fur 
traders  and  missionaries  had  pushed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi  valley.  Two  Jesuits,  Pere  Mar- 
quette and  Pere  Joliet,  discovered  the  upper  course  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. In  1682  Lasalle  sailed  down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  vast  region  through  which  he  passed 
he  claimed  for  France,  and  named  it  Louisiana,  in  honor  of  King 
Louis  XIV.  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  were  founded  by  French 
settlers  a  few  years  later. 

The  uncertainty  of  intercolonial 
boundaries,  and  the  frequent  wars  be- 
tween the  parent  countries,  led  to  the 
long  conflict  that  forms  most  of  the  En- 
glish colonies'  annals  for  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years.  "The  history  of  the  colo- 
nies, except  for  the  great  and  romantic 
struggle  with  New  France,  would  have 
been  almost  destitute  of  striking  inci- 
dents." *  Queen  Anne's  War  (1702  to 
1703)  and  King  George's  War  (1744  to 
174S),  in  both  of  which  the  French  were 
assisted  by  the  Indians,  produced  no  im- 
portant results. 

The  decisive  struggle  began  in  1754, 
arising  from  a  dispute  between  the  Ohio 
Company  and  the  French,  into  whose 
territory  the  Company  had  entered  to 
trade  in  furs.  The  military  career  of 
George  Washington  began  at  this  time, 
he  being  dispatched  by  Governor  Din- 
widdie  of  Virginia  with  a  letter  to  the  French  commander  on  the 
Ohio.  The  latter's  reply  was  defiant,  and  two  expeditions  were 
sent  against  him — the  first  a  regiment  of  Virginians,  the  second 
a  British  force  under  Braddock.  Both  were  driven  back  from  Fort 
Duquesne  (on  the  present  site  of  Pittsburgh),  but  in  1759  the  war 
was  decided  by  the  capture  of  Quebec  by  Wolfe,  at  the  head  of  a 
British  expedition.  Peace  was  signed  in  1763,  France  abandoning 
all  her  territory  in  America,  except  the  two  islets  of  St.  Pierre  and 


LCUIS    XIV.    OF    FRANCE 


*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  chapter  I. 


752 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


tt 


-e    * 


*V«t 


A 


•#*£ 


BRADDOCK    MORTALLY    WOUNDED    AT    FORT    DUQUESNE.       (SEE    PRECEDING    PAGE.) 


Miquelon,  off  Newfoundland,  which  she  retains  to-day.  Her  set- 
tlements east  of  the  Mississippi  were  ceded  to  England,  and  the 
land  west  of  the  Mississippi  to  Spain,  in  return  for  the  surrender 
of  Florida  to  England. 

The  next  great  event  in  American  history  was  the  Revolution 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED   STATES.  753 

of  the  thirteen  colonies  against  England.  Discontent  against  the 
mother  country  had  been  growing  gradually,  arising  mainly  from 
the  unjust  fiscal  policy  enforced  by  the  British  Parliament.  The 
colonies  were  prohibited  from  exporting  goods  to  any  country  bnt 
England.  Duties  were  exacted  upon  the  goods  they  imported,  and 
their  efforts  to  establish  their  own  manufactures  were  crushed. 

In  1765  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act  brought  matters  near  to 
a  crisis.  This  law  required  all  documents  needed  in  the  colonies 
to  be  written  upon  stamped  paper,  which  Avas  to  be  bought  from 
officers  of  the  British  revenue  service.  The  measure  aroused  great 
public  indignation  in  America.  Six  colonies  united  in  a  memorial 
of  protest,  wherein  they  "  took  their  stand  on  the  principle  that  as 
•free-born  Englishmen  they  could  not  rightfully  be  taxed  by  the 
House  of  Commons  unless  they  were  represented  in  that  body."  * 

In  1766  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  but  a  few  months  later 
Parliament  imposed  a  duty  on  all  glass,  paper,  paints,  and  tea 
brought  into  America.  Great  opposition  being  manifested  against 
these  taxes,  a  body  of  British  troops,  under  General  Gage,  was 
quartered  in  Boston.  As  the  excitement  in  the  colonies  continued, 
the  duties  were  ultimately  removed  with  the  exception  of  that  on 
tea,  which  was  retained  as  an  assertion  of  the  principle  that  Parlia- 
ment's power  over  America  was  supreme. 

For  the  same  reason  the  tea  tax  was  violently  denounced  in 
the  colonies.  "When  our  liberty  is  gone,"  said  Samuel  Adams,  a 
leading  citizen  of  Boston,  "  history  and  experience  will  teach  us 
that  an  increase  of  inhabitants  will  be  but  an  increase  of  slaves."  f 
This  feeling  led  to  the  Boston  Tea  Party — "  an  event  so  great  that 
even  American  historians  have  generally  failed  to  do  it  justice."  $ 
On  Dec.  16,  1773,  a  party  of  men,  disguised  as  Indians,  boarded 
some  ships  that  lay  in  Boston  harbor,  and  threw  their  cargoes  of 
tea  overboard. 

Parliament  retaliated  by  closing  the  port  of  Boston.  The 
custom  house  was  removed  to  Salem,  and  General  Gage  was  ap- 
pointed military  governor  of  Massachusetts.  The  other  colonies 
loyally  supported  the  Bostonians,  and  Virginia  proclaimed  a  fast 
upon  the  day  when  their  port  was  closed. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1774,  fifty-three  delegates,  sent  by  all 

*Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  1.         f  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 
J  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  2. 

42 


754 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


i 


—Si*  if:  »    *.,,v  _^  '"»» 


sg* 


the  colonies  except  Georgia,  met  in  the  first  Continental  Congress, 

held  in  Philadelphia,  to  discuss  schemes 
for  mutual  assistance.  Throughout 
the  colonies  companies  of  "minute 
men"  were  formed,  to  be  ready  for 
service  in  sudden  emergency. 

The  first  shots  of  the  Revolution 
were  fired  at  Lexington,  Massachu- 
,/*5ii£'4«i^-^*l^*  setts,  where  General  Gaee,  on  his  way 
\  to  destroy  some  military  stores  col- 
lected by  the 
patriots  at 
Concord,  met 
armed  resist- 
ance from  the 
minute  men, 
on  the  19th  of 
April,  1775. 
The  colonial 
forces  g  a  t  h- 
ered  at  Cam- 
bridge, oppo- 
s  i  t  e  Boston, 
and  occupied 
Bunker  Hill, 
whence  they 
were  driven 
by  the  Brit- 
ish in  the  first 


COLONEL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


having  been  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the 
new  army  by  the  Continental  Congress  in  session 
in  Philadelphia,  takes  command  of  the  patriot  sol- 
diers under  the  elm  tree  at  Cambridge,  July  3,  1775. 
{Drawing  by  H.  A.  Ogden) 


serious    fight 


of  the  war, 
fought  on  the 
17th  of  June, 
1775  —  a  bat- 
tle "charac- 
terized, on  both  the  British  and  the  American  sides,  by  heroism 
rather  than  by  military  skill  or  prudence."  *  Meanwhile,  Ethan 
Allen  had  captured   the   British  forts  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 

*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  2. 


(755) 


756 


HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES, 


Point,  on  Lake  Champlain  ;  and  the  Second  Continental  Congress 
had  met  and  appointed  George  Washington  commander-in-chief  of 
the  colonial  troops. 

In  March,    1776,  the  British  evacuated  Boston,    and  in  June, 

their  at- 
tack, under 
Gen  e  r  al 
Clinton,  on 
Charleston, 
S.  Carolina, 
proved  a 
failure.  On 
the  4th  of 
July,  the 
Continent'l 
Congress, 
still  in  ses- 
sion atPhil- 
adel  phia, 
finally  sev- 
ered its  al- 
legiance to 
England  by 
adopting 
the  Decla- 
ration  of 
Independ- 
ence, drawn 
up  by  Thos. 
Jefferson,  a 
delegate 
from  Vir- 


RETREAT   OF   THE   CONTINENTAL     FORCES    FROM    LONG    ISLAND   AFTER   TMEIR    DEFEAT    ON    THE   27TH   OF   AUGUST. 
(DRAWING    Bv    H.    A.    OGDEN.) 


gmia. 


King  George's  government  now  realized  that  the  rebellion  of 
the  Colonies  was  a  serious  affair.  An  army  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand men,  under  Lord  Howe,  landed  on  Staten  Island,  defeated 
General  Putnam  in  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  and  drove  Washing- 
ington  out  of  New  York.  With  only  three  thousand  men,  the 
American  commodore  retreated  through  New  Jersey,  pursued  by 
the  British  under  Cornwallis. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


757 


During  the  winter  of  1776-77  Washington  twice  crossed  the 
Delaware,  and  made  successful  attacks  upon  the  British  at  Trenton 
and  at  Princeton.  But  he  was  in  need  of  men,  money,  and  muni- 
tions of  war,  and  when,  in  September,  the  British,  landing  in  dies- 


WASHINGTON    CROSSING   THE    DELAWARE.       (PAINTING    BV    LEUTZE.) 


apeake  Bay,  marched  upon  Philadelphia,  he  was  unable  to  prevent 
the  capture  of  the  colonial  capital.  The  winter  of  1 777-78,  during 
which  Washington  was  in  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  on  the 
Schuylkill,  was  the  darkest  period  of  the  Revolution.  "Well  might 
Thomas  Paine  declare,  'These  are  the  times  that  try  men's 
souls!'"* 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  patriots  had  gained  an  important 
success  in  the  north.  General  Burgoyne,  invading  New  York  by 
way  of  Di.ke  Champlain,  with  a  force  of  British  troops,  Hessians, 
and  Indians,  captured  Ticonderoga,  but  was  defeated  by  General 
Starke  and   General  Gates,  and  on  October  17  capitulated  to  the 

*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  5. 


758 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


latter  his  surrender  being  called  a  convention,  "a  soothing  phrase 
well  remembered  by  British  historians."  * 

Early  in  1778  the  British  evacuated  Philadelphia  and  retreated 
to  New  York,  followed  by  Washington.  The  indecisive  battle  of 
Monmouth  was  fought  during  their  retreat  across  New  Jersey. 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 
"These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls,"  declared  the  patriot  Thomas  Paine.     {Drawing  by  H.  A.  Ogden  ) 

In  February,  1778,  Benjamin  Franklin,  sent  to  Europe  to  rep- 
resent the  colonies,  signed  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  France.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  treat}-,  which  was  a  very  important  addition  to 
the  strength  of  the  patriots,  a  French  fleet  arrived  in  July,  and 
sailed  to  attack  the  British  force  at  Newport.  It  was  driven  back 
by  a  storm.  In  December  a  British  expedition  captured  Savannah. 
Georgia. 

The  year  1779  witnessed  much  desultory  fighting  at  various 

*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  7. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


759 


points,  but  was  chiefly  distinguished  by  the  exploits  of  Paul  Jones, 
who,  commanding  the  privateer  Bon  Homme  Richard,  harried  the 
coast  of  England,  and  captured  the  British  frigate  Serapis,  after 
"  one  of  the  most  obstinate  and  murderous 
struggles  recorded  in  naval  history."  * 

In  1780  Benedict  Arnold,  in  command 
of  the  important  American  post  at  West 
Point,  entered  into  a  traitorous  agreement  to 
surrender  it  to  the  British.  His  design 
was  detected  through  the  arrest 
of  Andre,  a  British  spy ;  but  Ar- 
nold  escaped  and  joined  the  en- 
emy. Charleston  was  also  cap- 
tured by  the  British  under  Clin- 
ton. A  series  of  battles  in  the 
Carolinas  and  Virginia  ensued, 
between  the  invaders,  commanded 
by  Cornwallis,  and  the  Americans 
under  Generals  Gates,  Morgan, 
and  Greene.  In  October,  Corn- 
wallis, intrenched  at  Yorktown, 
was  surrounded  by  an  army  com- 
posed of  Americans  under  Wash- 
ington and  a  French  force  under  Rochambeau,  together  with  a 
French  fleet  of  which  De  Grasse  was  admiral.  On  the  19th  of 
October  Cornwallis  surrendered  with  eight  thousand  men. 

After  this  disaster  the  British  government  made  no  further 
attempt  to  reconquer  the  colonies.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  negoti- 
ated, and  finally  signed  on  the  3rd  of  September,  1783,  by  which 
England  recognized  their  independence,  their  boundaries  being 
the  Great  Lakes  on  the  north,  the  Mississippi  on  the  west,  and  on 
the  south  Florida.  Florida  was  re-ceded  to  Spain  — "  an  event 
which  was  accounted  by  our  forefathers  a  great  gain  to  the  new 
republic."  f 

The  colonies  had  now  established  their  independence,  but  their 
political,  social,  and  financial  affairs  were  in  great  disorder.  The 
Continental   Congress   had  incurred  a  vast  debt  which  it  had  no 


g.  fie  "J *7? 


MARQUIS    MARIE   JOSEPH    PAUL    OE     LA  FAYETTE,  WHO  CAME   OVER    IN  THE  FRENCH    FLEET, 
TO   OFFER    HIS   SWORD    IN     DEFENSE   OF    LIBERTY. 


*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  2, 
Vol.  I,  Chap.  1. 


-j-  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress, 


r6o 


HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


means  of  paying.  Its  paper  currency  was  terribly  depreciated. 
"To  say  that  a  thing  was  '  not  worth  a  continental'  became  the 
strongest  possible  expression  of  contempt."  *    At  one  time  during 


SURRENDER  OF  CORNWALLIS  TO  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

As  Cornwallis  disdained  to  personally  surrender  his  sword 
to  the  American  commander-in-chief,  he  ordered  his  adju- 
tant to  hand  the  same  to  Washington,  who,  quick  to  see 
the  intended  insult,  pointed  to  his  adjutant,  to  whom  the 
sword  was  turned  over.     (See  page  747.) 


the  war  "  it  took  ten  paper  dollars  to  make  a  cent."  f  There  were 
serious  dissensions  between  the  colonies,  and  great  popular  distress 
and  discontent,  which  in  Massachusetts  broke  out  into  Shay's  Re- 
bellion. Under  such  discouraging  circumstances  took  place  "the 
most  cheering  act  in  the  political  history  of  mankind,  when  thir- 
teen republics,  of  which  at  least  three  reached  from  the  sea  to  the 
Mississippi,  formed  themselves  into  one  federal  commonwealth."  % 


*  Fiske's  American  Revolution,  Chapter  19.       f  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 
J  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States. 


HISTORY    OK    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


-6 1 


The  last  British  troops  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  25th  of 
November,  and  "the  same. day  that  witnessed  the  departure  of  Sir 
Guy  Carletou  from  New  York  also  witnessed  the  entry  into  that 
city  of  the  army  of  the  States."*    Thereupon  Washington  took  a 


WASHINGTON    BIDS    FAREWELL   TO    HIS    OFFICERS   AFTER    RESIGNING    HIS    COMMAND   OF    THE   ARMY. 

formal  leave  of  his  troops  and  retired  to  his  home  at  Mount  Ver- 
non, Virginia.  He  and  other  leading  patriots  continued  to  urge 
the  reconstitution  of  the  government,  and  the  union  of  the  colonies 
in  a  strong  and  stable  confederation.  In  September,  1786,  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  was  summoned  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  to 
frame  a  plan  for  a  more  perfect  union  ;  but  as  only  five  states  sent 
representatives  the  convention  was  adjourned  until  the  following 
May. 

*  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Chapter  2. 


762  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

In  that  month  (May,  1787)  delegates  from  all  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  except  Rhode  Island  met  in  Philadelphia.  The  conven- 
tion sat  for  four  months,  choosing  Washington  as  its  president, 
and  finally  drafted  and  agreed  upon  a  federal  constitution.  This 
instrument,  which  became  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
provided  for  a  legislative  body,  entitled  Congress,  and  consisting 
of  two  chambers,  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives;  an 
executive  department,  with  a  President  at  its  head ;  and  the  federal 
judiciary  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

While  the  constitutional  convention  was  in  session  at  Phila- 
delphia, the  Continental  Congress  held  its  last  sitting  in  New 
York — a  sitting  signalized  by  the  organization  of  a  government  for 
the  Northwestern  Territory  —  the  vast  tract  of  land,  hitherto 
claimed  by  Virginia,  between  the  Ohio  river,  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  Great  Lakes,  which  now  forms  the  States  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  General  Arthur  St. 
Clair  was  appointed  the  first  governor  of  the  Territory,  with  his 
headquarters  at  the  settlement  of  Marietta,  on  the  Ohio. 

The  constitution  framed  at  Philadelphia  met  with  a  by  no 
means  ready  acceptance.  In  some  of  the  colonies  it  "called  forth 
the  fiercest  resistance  that  selfish  interests  could  organize."  *  New 
York,  unwilling  to  surrender  to  a  central  government  the  great 
revenues  that  might  be  raised  at  her  port,  "  of  the  thirteen  States 
was  the  most  stubborn  in  opposition."  f  The  constitution  was  to 
become  operative  when  accepted  by  nine  States.  Delaware,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  New  Jersey  ratified  it  in  December,  1787;  Georgia 
and  Connecticut  in  January,  178S;  Massachusetts  in  February, 
Maryland  in  April,  South  Carolina  in  May,  and  New  Hampshire, 
the  ninth  State,  on  the  21st  of  June.  Virginia  and  New  York  fol- 
lowed, but  North  Carolina  held  aloof  until  November,  1789,  and 
Rhode  Island  to  the  29th  of  May,  1790. 

The  United  States  was  now  fully  established  as  a  Nation.  "It 
is  estimated  that  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolutionary  War  there 
were  in  the  country,  both  white  and  black,  2,750,000  souls."  J  The 
total  population  had  now  increased  to  about  three  and  a  quarter 
millions.  The  area  of  the  Union  was  eight  hundred  thousand 
square  miles. 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States.  f  Ibid. 

I  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Chapter  I. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


763 


New  York  had  been  designated  as  the  seat  of  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. The  first  election  for  President  was  held  on  the  6th  of 
April,  1789,  when  the  electors  chosen  by  the  several  States  named 
George  Washington  as  President,  and  John  Adams  of  Massachu- 
setts as  Vice  President.  General  Washington,  who  was  now  in  his 
fifty-eighth  year,  journeyed  from  Mount  Vernon  to 
New  York  for  his  inauguration,  being  received 
with  a  great,  popular  ovation  along  his 
route.  On  the  30th  of  April  he  took  the 
oath  of  office  on  the  portico  of  the  old 
City  Hall,  which  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Wall  and  Broad  streets. 

The  leading  members  of  Washing- 
ton's first  cabinet  were  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, Secretary  of  State;  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
Edmund  Randolph,  Attorney-General, 
and  General  Henry  Knox,  Secretary  of 
War.  Able  men  were  needed  for  the 
guidance  of  the  government.  The  treas- 
ury was  empty.  Spain  was  excluding 
American  ships  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi.  England  had  retained  some 
forts  in  the  West  that  should  have  been  sur- 
rendered, and  the  Indians  were  waging  war  oh 
the  pioneers  of  the  Northwestern  Territory  and 
had  defeated  Governor  St.  Clair.  The  outbreak 
of  the  French  Revolution  had  caused  friction  with  the  new  repub- 
lican government  of  France,  whose  ambassador  in  America,  M. 
Genet,  had  fitted  out  vessels  of  war  in  American  ports,  to  be  used 
against  England,  and  had  defied  Washington's  command  to  respect 
the  neutrality  of  the  United  States. 

All  these  international  difficulties  were  removed  by  diplomacy. 
The  offending  French  minister  was  withdrawn.  In  1795  a  treaty 
was  concluded  with  Spain,  and  in  the  same  year  John  Jay  negoti- 
ated another  with  England.  The  Indian  troubles  in  the  West 
were  ended  by  an  expedition  commanded  by  General  Anthony 
Wayne,  who  conquered  the  savages  in  a  battle  on  the  Maumee 
river. 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON. 


764 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  regulation  of  the  Federal  finances  was  the  work  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton.  He  funded  the  debt  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  1 791  established  a  mint  and  the  United  States  Bank  in  Phila- 
delphia, which  was  then  the  largest  city  and  chief  financial  centre 
of  the  country,  and  had  recently  been  created  the  capital — for  in 
1790  the  government  was  removed  to  it  from  New  York.  To  de- 
fray the  charges  of  the  national  debt,  duties  were  levied  upon  im- 
ported goods,  and  an  internal  revenue  tax  imposed  upon  the  dis- 
tillation of  whisk}'.  These  taxes  were  not  entirely  popular. 
Western  Pennsylvania  rose  against  the  taxation 
of  spirits,  and  the  Whisky  Rebellion,  as  it  was 
called,  was  only  suppressed  by  calling  out  a 
large  force  of  militia. 

When    Washington's    term    of    four 

years  in  the  Presidency  expired,  he  was 

elected  for  a  second  time,  John  Adams 

being    also    re-elected    Vice-President. 

Washington's  second  inauguration  took 

place   at   Philadelphia    on    the    4th   of 

March,  1793.     On  the  approach  of  the 

expiration  of  his  second  term  he  issued 

a  Farewell  Address  and  refused  to  be  a 

candidate  for  a  third,  thereby  setting  a 

precedent    that    has    never    since    been 

broken. 

During   Washington's    administration 
three  new  States  were  added  to  the  original 
thirteen — Vermont    (1791),    Kentucky    (1792), 
and  Tennessee  (1796). 

The  political  sentiment  of  the  nation  was 
divided  into  two  schools  or  parties.  The  Republicans,  of  whom 
the  Democrats  are  the  modern  successors,  supported  the  rights  of 
the  individual  States  as  against  those  of  the  general  government. 
The  Federalists,  who  somewhat  faintly  correspond  to  the  Re- 
publicans of  to-day,  held  that  the  Federal  power  should  be  further 
extended. 

The  Federalists  had  a  majority  of  the  electors  who  chose 
Washington's  successor,  and  they  named  John  Adams,  of  Massa- 
chusetts.     Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  who  was  the   author  of 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 
This  splendid  portrait  of  "  Pater  Patriae,"  is  copied  now  for  the  first  time  after  the  famous  etching 
by  the  French  artist  Henry  Lefort.    The  etcher  took  as  his  model  the  three-quarter  face, 
head.  and    epauletted  continental-uniformed   bust  of   the    portrait    by    gilbert 
Stuart,   of  which  Washington   Allston  wrote:   "A  nobler   personifica- 
tion    OF     WISDOM     AND     GOODNESS,    REPOSING     IN    THE     MAJESTY    OF     A 
SERENE    CONSCIENCE,  IS    NOT   TO    BE    FOUND    ON    CANVASS." 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


767 


the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  had  served  as  Washington's 
Secretary  of  State,  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans,  and  as  he 
received  the  second  highest  number  of  votes  he  became  Vice-Presi- 
dent, according  to  the  rule  then  prevailing.  Adams  and  Jefferson 
were  inaugurated  in  Philadelphia  on  the  4th  of  March,  1797. 

The    chief  incident    of   John   Adams'    uneventful    Presidency 
was   a  brief  war   with    France.       The   friction 
with    the    unstable    government     of    that 
country  had  continued.    War  was  finally 
precipitated   by    a   demand   from   the 
Director}-,   then   in  power  at   Paris, 
that  the  United  States  should  pay 
the    sum    of    two   hundred    and 
fifty   thousand   dollars,   before 
the  questions  at  issue  should  be 
considered.    Congress  declared 
war,  and   organized  an  army, 
of  which  Washington  was  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief. 
The  only   actual   hostilities 
that  took  place,  however,  were 
two   fights    at    sea  between 
French  and  American  frigates, 
the  latter  being  victorious  on 
each  occasion.     In  1S00,  the  Di- 
rectory having  been  overthrown 
by  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  estab- 
lished himself  as  First  Consul  of  the 
French  republic,   the  war  was  ended 
by  a  treaty  of  peace  that  left  the  Corsi- 
can   dictator   free   to    pursue  his   plans   of 
conquest  on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Shortly    before    the    conclusion    of 
peace  George  Washington  died  at  Mount  Vernon,  on  the   14th  of 
December,  1799. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  administration  President  Adams  in- 
curred much  unpopularity  through  the  passage,  at  his  instance,  of 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  which  gave  the  government  power  to 
expel  disloyal  foreigners  and  punish  all  disaffected  persons.    These 


NAPOLEON    AS    CONSUL. 


768 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


acts  were  denounced  as  unconstitutional  by  the  Republicans,  who 
were  victorious  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1S00.  Their  leading 
candidates,  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr,  received  an  equal 
number  of  votes  in  the  electoral  college.  The  matter  being  re- 
ferred to  the  House  of  Representatives,  Jefferson  was  elected. 

In  this  year  (1800)  the  seat  of  the  Federal  government  was  re- 
moved from  Philadelphia  to  a  new  city  established  on  territory 
ceded  by  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  named  Washington.  In  1S02, 
Ohio,  the  seventeenth  State,  was  admitted  to  the  Union. 

The  great  event  of  Jefferson's  administration  was  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  which  then  included  all  the  land  west  of  the  Missis- 


BIRDSEYE   VIEW    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES   AND    CANADA,    SHOWING   THE    GREAT    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


sippi,  stretching  indefinitely  westward.  This  vast  territory,  ceded 
by  France  to  Spain  in  1763,  passed  back  to  the  French  in  1S00. 
In  1803,  Jefferson,  anxious  to  secure  control  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  instructed  Livingston,  the  American  minister  at  Paris, 
to  make  a  proposal  for  the  purchase  of  New  Orleans.  Napoleon, 
needing  money  for  his  war  against  Austria  and  Prussia,  offered  tc 
sell  the  whole  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  The  offer,  though 
unexpected,  was  accepted,  the  price  agreed  on  being  "  sixty  millions 
of  francs,  or,  as  was  calculated,  $11,250,000,"  *  besides  the  payment 
of  certain  claims  which  brought  the  total  to  nearly  $15,000,000. 

*  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Chapter  13. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


769 


There  was  some  short-sighted  criticism  of  this  heavy  outlay,  hut 
"the  mass  of  the  people  pronounced  the  purchase  a  bargain.  "* 

In  1801  an  effort  was  made  to  punish  the  pirates  of  the  north 
African  coast,  who  had  inflicted  great  damage  upon  American  ship- 
ping in  the  Mediterranean.  Commodore  Preble  attacked  Tangiers 
in  1803,  but  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  blockading  Tripoli,  was  cap- 
tured by  the  pirates,  and  her  crew  was  held  in  slavery  until  rescued 
by  Decatur  six  months  later.  In  1804  Tripoli  was  bombarded  and 
the  Bey  forced  to  sue  for  peace. 

In   that  same   year    the  bitter  political  ani- 
mosity between  Vice-President  Burr  and  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  culminated  in  a  duel.     "In 
the  early  sunlight  of  a  July  morning  the 
two  were  rowed  across  the  Hudson  river" 
from   New    York,   "and    met    under  the 
rocky  heights  of  Weehawken."  f    Ham- 
ilton   was   shot    and    killed  —  an    event 
that    caused  great  public    sorrow,    and 
ruined  Burr's  career.      In  the  ensuing 
election,  while  Jefferson  was  re-elected 
President,   Burr  was  succeeded    by 
George  Clinton    of   New  York.     Before 
this  election  a  constitutional  amendment 
had   been    passed,   whereby    the    electors 
voted    separately    for  President  and  Vice- 
President.    Two  years  later  Burr  was  arrested 
on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  accused  of  a  design 
of  founding  an  empire  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 
He  was  not  convicted. 

In  1807  Robert  Fulton's  first  steamer,  the  Clermont,  made  its 
famous  voyage  from  New  York  to  Albany,  marking  the  invention 
of  steam  navigation. 

The  Napoleonic  wars,  which  at  this  time  were  making  Europe 
a  great  battle-field,  seriously  affected  the  United  States.  England, 
whose  navy  under  Nelson  had  become  mistress  of  the  seas,  claimed 
the  so-called  Right  of  Search  over  American  vessels.  Her  men-of- 
war  constantly  stopped  and  boarded  them,  and  impressed  men  from 
their  crews,  claiming  that  the  men  she  took  were  British  citizens. 

*  McMaster's  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Chapter  13.  ■{  Ibid 


THOMAS   JEFFERSON. 


77o 


HISTORY   OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


The  American  frigate  Chesapeake  was  fired  upon,  in  1S07,  by  the 
British  man-of-war  Leopard,  and  four  of  her  seamen  forcibly  cap- 
tured as  deserters. 

Americans  also  suffered  from  the  blockades  proclaimed  by 
France  and  England.  By  the  Orders  in  Council  of  1S07  the  latter 
prohibited  all  trade  with  France  and  her  allies.  Napoleon  retaliated 
with  the  Milan  Decree,  declaring  an  embargo  against  England  and 
her  colonies.  American  merchant  vessels  attempting  to  trade  with 
either  of  the  combatants  were  liable  to  seizure  by  the  cruisers  of 
the  other.     Congress  did  not  mend  matters  by  passing  a  law  to 

prevent  American  ships  from  leaving  the  ports 
of  the  United  States.  The  shipping  industry, 
then  very  extensive,  was  seriously  injured. 

Amid  this  political  confusion  Jefferson's 
presidency  ended.  Following  the  example  of 
Washington,  he  declined  a  third  term, and  in 
the  election  of  180S  James  Madison  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  chosen  to  succeed  him,  while  Clin- 
ton was  re-elected  Vice  President.  Madison 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  leaders  of 
the  Republican  party,  and  had  been  Jeffer- 
son's Secretary  of  State  throughout  the  lat- 
ter's  Presidenc}'. 

The  relations  of  the  United  States  to- 
ward France,  and  especially  toward  Eng- 
land, continued  to  be  strained.  In  1S10 
Napoleon  issued  a  special  decree  against 
American  trade,  and  though  this  was  shortly 
afterward  revoked,  both  French  and  English  men-of-war  repeatedly  ■ 
seized  American  vessels.  English  ships  even  entered  American 
ports  to  do  so,  and  in  1S11  shots  were  exchanged  between  the 
British  cruiser  Little  Belt  and  the  American  frigate  President. 
Altogether,  between  1803  and  1812,  nine  hundred  American  ships 
were  seized  or  searched  bv  the  British,  and  six  thousand  American 
sailors  impressed  into  the  British  service 

In  181 1  there  was  a  great  rising  of  the  Indians  in  the  North- 
western Territory,  under  the  Shawnee  chief  Tecumseh,  whose 
headquarters  were  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tippecanoe  and  Wa- 
bash rivers,  in  Indiana.     General  William  Henrv  Harrison  was  sent 


JAMES    MAOISON. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


771 


to  attack  hirn,  and  met  his  messengers,  who  promised  that  on  the 
next  day  Tecumseh  would  come  to  sign  a  treaty.  That  night  the 
Indians  assaulted  General  Harrison's  camp,  but  in  the  fight  that 
followed,  called  the  Battle  of  the  Tippecanoe,  they  were  defeated 
and  crushed. 

In  June,  1S12,  Louisiana  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a- 
new  State.  In  the  same  month  war  was  declared  against  Eng- 
land. 

The  first  fighting  took  place  on  the  Northwestern  frontier. 
General  Hull,  governor  of  Michigan  Territory,  moved  into  Canada. 
His  troops  were  defeated  at  Brownstown,  and  he  was  driven  back 
across  the  St.  Clair  River  to  the  fort  at  Detroit.  He  was  pursued 
by  a  British  force  under  General  Brock,  who  had  been  joined  by 
Tecumseh  and  his  Shawnees.  At  Brock's  first  attack  upon  Detroit, 
Hull  ran  up  a  white  flag,  surrendering  the  fort  with  its  garrison 
and  its  stores.  For  this  cowardly  act,  which  occurred  on  the  16th 
of  August,  1S12,  Hull  was  afterward  court-martialed  and  sentenced 
to  be  shot,  but  was  pardoned  by  President  Madison.  The  British 
had  also  captured  Fort  Mackinaw,  and  were  now  in  possession  of 
the  whole  of  Michigan. 

Almost  equally  disastrous  was  an  attempted  invasion  of  Canada 


y/M^ 


GOVERNOR    HULL,    AFTER    HIS    DEFEAT    AT    BROWNSTOWN,    WITHDhAWS    HIS    TROOPS    TO    FORT     DETROIT. 


772  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

at  Queenstown,  on  the  Niagara  River.  A  bocry  of  New  York  militia, 
under  General  Van  Rensselaer,  was  stationed  at  Lewiston,  on  the 
American  side.  A  detachment  crossed  the  river,  attacked  the  British 
force  at  Queenstown,  and  drove  them  back ;  but  reiuforcements 
coming  up,  and  the  rest  of  the  New  York  men  refusing  to  go  to 
their  comrades'  assistance,  the  invaders  were  killed  or  captured  al- 
most to  a  man. 

But  while  the  American  flag  met  with  disasters  on  land,  at  sea 
it  achieved  creditable  successes.  No  important  naval  battles  were 
fought,  but  the  British  frigate  Guerriere  was  captured  and  burned 
by  the  United  States  frigate  Constitution  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence. Later  in  the  year  the  Constitution  took  a  second  British 
frigate,  the  Java,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil.  Captain  Decatur,  of  the 
frigate  United  States,  captured  a  third,  the  Macedonian,  near  the 
Azores.  The  sloop  Wasp  met  and  took  the  British  brig  Frolic,  off 
North  Carolina,  but  was  in  turn  captured  by  an  English  man-of- 
war.  American  privateers  were  commissioned  in  great  numbers, 
and  did  great  damage  to  British  commerce,  seizing  three  hundred 
vessels  within  a  year. 

The  successes  over  a  nation  whose  boast  it  was  that  for  fifty 
years  she  had  never  met  defeat  on  the  ocean  gave  great  satisfaction 
in  the*  United  States.  Popular  approval  of  President  Madison's 
policy  was  testified  by  his  re-election  in  the  fall  of  1812. 

In  18 1 3  General  Harrison,  the  victor  of  Tippecanoe,  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  army  in  the  Northwest.  His  campaign  opened 
disastrously.  General  Winchester,  the  leader  of  his  advanced  guard, 
was  surrounded  on  the  Maumee  River  and  captured,  with  a  thou- 
sand men,  by  the  British  and  Indians  under  General  Proctor.  Proc- 
tor then  besieged  Harrison  at  Fort  Meigs,  but  was  driven  off  by  the 
arrival  of  twelve  hundred  Kentuckians.  In  July  Proctor  renewed 
his  attack,  but  was  again  unsuccessful,  and  was  also  repulsed  from 
Fort  Stevenson,  at  Lower  Sandusky. 

In  September  a  fleet  of  nine  small  vessels,  hastily  equipped 
by  the  Americans,  encountered  the  six  British  ships  that  had 
hitherto  had  control  of  Lake  Erie.  The  latter  were  defeated  and 
captured,  and  Perry,  the  American  commander,  sent  to  General 
Harrison  the  message,  "We  have  met  the  enemy  and  the}'  are 
ours !"  Harrison's  army  was  now  carried  across  the  lake  to  invade 
Canada.     Proctor  hurried  back  to  the  defense  of  the  British  settle- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  773 

meats.  The  two  forces  met  on  the  Thames  River,  where,  on  the 
5th  of  October,  Proctor  was  defeated,  and  his  Shawnee  ally,  Te- 
cumseh,  was  killed.  This  success  restored  Michigan  to  the  United 
States,  and  relieved  the  Northwestern  Territory  from  fear  of  in- 
vasion. 

Meanwhile  General  Dearborn,  in  April,  had  crossed  Lake 
Ontario  and  captured  York  (now  Toronto),  the  capital  of  Upper 
Canada.  Not  attempting  to  retain  the  town,  he  next  attacked 
Fort  George,  the  British  post  on  the  Niagara  River.  The  com- 
mander of  the  fort  blew  up  his  magazines  and  retreated,  but  in  the 
ensuing  battle,  at  Burlington  Heights,  the  Americans  were  taken 
by  surprise  and  forced  to  withdraw.  A  detachment  of  six  hun- 
dred of  Dearborn's  men  was  surrounded  and  captured  at  Fort 
George. 

'  After  this  disaster  Dearborn  was  recalled,  and  was  succeeded 
by  General  Wilkinson,  who  planned  an  expedition  against  Mon- 
treal. In  the  battle  of  Chrysler's  Farm,  fought  near  the  rapids  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  he  was  successful,  but  he  was  unable  to  reach 
Montreal,  going  into  winter  quarters  near  St.  Regis. 

There  were  also  hostilities  against  the  Indians  in  the  South- 
west in  1813.  In  August  the  Creeks  captured  Fort  Mims,  on  the 
Alabama  River,  and  massacred  its  inhabitants.  Other  settlements 
were  attacked,  and,  though  troops  from  Tennessee  and  Georgia 
were  called  out,  the  Creek  War  was  not  ended  until  General  Jack- 
son inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  on  the  Indians  at  the  Horseshoe 
Bend  of  the  Tallapoosa  River,  in  March,  1S14. 

The  chief  naval  actions  of  1813  were  the  sinking  of  the  British 
brig  Peacock  by  the  American  sloop  Hornet,  and  the  capture  of 
another  British  brig,  the  Boxer,  by  the  Enterprise.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Chesapeake,  commanded  by  Captain  Lawrence,  met  the 
British  frigate  Shannon,  off  Boston,  and  was  taken  after  a  short 
fight,  in  which  Lawrence  was  killed.  His  last  words  were  "  Don't 
give  up  the  ship !  " 

The  battles  of  1814  were  the  most  important  of  the  war.  In 
June  General  Brown  crossed  the  Niagara  River  with  five  thousand 
men,  took  Fort  Erie,  and  on  the  14th  of  July  met  and  defeated  a 
British  force  under  General  Riall,  at  Chippewa.  On  the  25th  the 
two  armies  met  again  in  the  hard  fought  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane. 
The  Americans  captured  a  hill  on  which  the  British  had  planted 


774 


HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


a  battery,  and  held  it  against  repeated  assaults ;  but  though  suc- 
cessful, their  loss  was  so  great  that  on  the  following  day  they 
were  forced  to  retreat.  In  the  battle  the  commander  of  the  Amer 
ican  advance  guard,  Winfield  Scott,  "  was  seriously  wounded  in 
the  shoulder."  *  During  the  summer  the  British,  under  General 
Drummond,  besieged  Fort  Erie,  which  the  Americans  held  until 
November,  when  its  commandant,  General  Izard,  blew  it  up  and 
withdrew  from  Canada. 

In  September  a  British  expedition  of  twelve  thousand  men, 
under  General  Prevost,  invaded  the  United  States  by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and  attacked  Plattsburg,  which  was  defended  by  Gen- 
eral Macomb,  with  three  thousand  men,  and  a  squadron  of  vessels 
under  Commodore  McDonough.  On  the  nth  of  September,  Pre- 
vost, attempting  to  cross  the  Saranac  River,  was  driven  back  with 
heavy  loss. 

A  British  expedition  against  Baltimore  and  Washington  was 
more  successful.  A  fleet,  under  Admiral  Cochrane,  entered  Chesa- 
peake Bay  in  August,  and  landed  a  force  of  4,500  men  on  the 
Patuxent  River,  fifty  miles  from  Washington.  The  capital  was 
defended  only  by  a  body  of  militia  under  General  Winder,  and 
Commodore  Barney's  few  small  vessels;  and  "the  British  com- 
mander, General  Robert  Ross,  boasted  that  he  would  wipe  out 
Barney's  fleet  and  dine  in  Washington  the  next  Sunday."  f  March- 
ing upon  the  capital,  Ross  defeated  its  defenders  at  Bladensburg 
on  the  24th  of  August,  entered  the  city,  burned  the  Capitol  and 
the  White  House,  and  returned  to  the  British  fleet. 

Admiral  Cochrane  then  move'd  toward  Baltimore.  He  bom- 
barded Fort  McHenry, 
JL.  and  there  was  a  skirmish 
T=  on  land  at  North  Point, 
3  in  which  General  Ross 
Hj  'was  killed.  The  fleet 
then  withdrew. 

Another  British  ex-. 
pedition  in  August 
occupied     Pensacola,    in 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S. 
History  (Scott). 
•f  Ibid  (Bladensburg). 


I1TE    HOUSE    AT 


ASHINGTON 


BATTLE    BETWEEN    THE    ESSEX,    UNDER    CAPTAIN    PORTER,   AND    TWO    ENGLISH    SHIPS    IN    THE    OFFING 

AT    VALPARAISO,  MARCH,   1813. 


(77S* 


776  HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Florida  (at  this  time  Spanish  territory),  and  moved  thence  against 
Fort  Bowyer,  at  the  mouth  of  Mobile  Bay.  Major  Lawrence,  in 
command  of  the  post,  repelled  the  attack  with  heavy  loss.  General 
Jackson,  who  was  at  the  head  of  military  operations  in  the  South, 
pursued  the  invaders  to  Pensacola  and  drove  them  out. 

New  Orleans  was  the  next  point  of  attack.  In  December  the 
British  ships  entered  Lake  Borgne  and  threatened  New  Orleans. 
They  captured  a  flotilla  of  American  vessels,  and  landed  an  army 
of  twelve  thousand  men  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  below 
New  Orleans.  Among  these  soldiers  were  "some  of  the  best  of 
Wellington's  troops  that  fought  on  the  Spanish  peninsula,"  *  and 
their  commander  was  General  Pakenham,  who  was  known  as  the 
Hero  of  Vittoria,  from  the  important  part  he  had  played  in  that 
battle,  fought  in  Spain  the  year  before. 

General  Jackson  had  but  half  as  many  men,  mostly  hastily 
levied  and  untrained  militia.  He  intrenched  himself  in  a  strong 
position  four  miles  below  the  city,  where,  to  attack  him,  the  en- 
emy must  move  along  a  narrow  and  exposed  space.  Pakenbam, 
who  regarded  Jackson's  forces  as  nothing  better  than  "a  handful 
of  backwoodsmen,"  ordered  his  men  to  assault.  They  did  this 
in  the  face  of  a  terrible  fire,  which  mowed  down  their  ranks  and 
finally  routed  them. 

In  this  battle  of  New  Orleans  "the  British  lost  2,600  men, 
killed,  wounded,  and  made  prisoners;  while  the  Americans,  shel- 
tered by  their  breastworks,  lost  only  eight  killed  and  thirteen 
wounded.  The  history  of  hunian  warfare  presents  no  parallel  to 
this  disparity  in  loss."f  Pakenham  himself  was  among  the  slain. 
General  Lambert,  who  succeeded  him,  at  once  retreated  to  his 
ships. 

The  only  notable  sea  fight  of  1814  was  that  in  which  the 
American  frigate  Bssex  was  captured  by  two  British  vessels  off 
Valparaiso. 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1814,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
at  Ghent,  in  Belgium,  by  British  and  American  commissioners. 
In  those  days  news  traveled  slowly,  and  it  was  three  weeks  after 
the  signature  of  the  treaty  that  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  was 
fought.      Intelligence  of  the  conclusion  of  peace  reached  America 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (New  Orleans).  f  Ibid. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  777 

on  the  nth  of  February,  1815,  and  was  thereupon  proclaimed  by 
the  President.  At  sea,  fighting  went  on  much  later.  In  February 
the  frigate  Constitution  captured  two  British  sloops  off  Lisbon. 
In  March  the  Hornet  sank  the  British  brig  Penguin  near  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  In  June,  four  months  after  the  proclamation  of 
peace,  the  Peacock  took  the  British  vessel  Nautilus  iu  the  Straits 
of  Sunda. 

The  end  of  the  war  was  hailed  with  great  joy  in  America. 
The  Federalist  party  had  all  along  opposed  a  war  policy,  and  it 
had  been  especially  unpopular  in  New  England.  Just  before  the 
peace,  a  convention  of  New  England  Federalists  met  to  protest 
against  the  continuance  of  hostilities  and  to  set  forth  their  griev- 
ances. The  delegates  were  charged  by  their  political  opponents 
with  intending  to  desert  the  Union  and  make  a  separate  peace  with 
England.  The  commerce  of  the  country  had  been  greatly  injured. 
The  paper  currency  was  much  depreciated,  and  little  gold  was  in 
circulation.  But  the  New  England  States  had  suffered  most  heav- 
ily. Their  coasts  had  been  blockaded  and  devastated,  their  fisher- 
ies suppressed,  and  their  coasting  vessels  swept  from  off  the  sea. 
So  completely  was  their  ocean  trade  destroyed  that  the  lighthouses 
along  their  shores  had  been  ordered  to  extinguish  their  signals,  be- 
cause they  were  of  service  to  none  but  British  ships. 

The  land  operations  of  the  American  forces  during  the  "war 
of  1812,"  as  the  second  war  against  Great  Britain  is  generally 
termed,  were  directed  mainly  toward  repelling  British  invasions, 
and  to  attacking  Canada.  The  commanders  who  won  the  greatest 
distinction  were  Generals  Jackson  and  Harrison,  both  of  whom  be- 
came Presidents  ;  Browu  and  Winfield  Scott,  afterwards  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army ;  and  Macomb,  the  victor  of  Plattsburg.  The 
sea-fights  of  the  war,  though  fewer  and  less  important,  were  more 
signally  creditable  to  the  flag  than  were  the  land  battles. 

The  American  navy  performed  another  notable  achievement  in 
June,  1815,  when  Decatur,  with  nine  ships,  occupied  the  harbor  of 
Algiers,  and  compelled  the  piratical  Dey  to  release  all  the  Ameri- 
cans among  the  slaves  captured  by  his  cruisers. 

The  last  important  event  of  Madison's  administration  was  the 
admission  to  the  Union  of  Indiana,  the  nineteenth  State,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1816.  In  the  following  March  he  retired  from  office,  having 
pained  the  reputation  of  one  who  "had  done  much  in  the  establish- 


778 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


ment  of  the  nation  on  a  firm  foundation,"  *  and  went  into  private 
life. 

"  Before  the  close  of  Madison's  administration,  the  Federal 
party  had  so  much  declined  in  strength  that  a  nomination  for  office 
by  the  Republican  party  was  equivalent  to  an  election."  f  In  the 
preceding  year  the  Presidential  nomination  had  fallen  upon  James 
Monroe,  of  Virginia,  who  was  elected,  with  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  of 
New  York,  as  Vice-President.  Monroe  had  performed  high  public 
service  as  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  Congressman,  and 
as  Secretary  of  War  under  Madison.  His  eight  years'  administra- 
tion was  marked  by  peaceful  relations  with  foreign  powers.  Its 
most  important  domestic  event  was  the  beginning 
of  the  agitation  of  the  Slavery  question. 

In  December,  1817,  the  western  half  of  the 
Mississippi  Territory  was  created  into  a  State, 
the  eastern  being  formed  into  Alabama  Territory. 
In  this  latter  there  was  immediately  afterward  an 
Indian  rising,  the  Creeks  renewing  their  attacks 
on  white  settlers,  and  being  assisted  by  the  Senii- 
noles  of  Florida.  General  Gaines,  in  command 
of  the  troops  in  Alabama,  could  not  suppress  the 
outbreak,  and  General  Jackson  called  out  the 
Tennessee  militia.  He  attacked  and  took  the 
Indian  villages,  and  then,  finding  that  the  rising 
had  been  instigated  from  beyond  the  frontier  of 
Spanish  territory,  he  "  did  not  hesitate  to  march 
across  the  line,  capture  Pensacola,  and  seize  the 
Barrancas,"  £  a  neighboring  fort. 
This  invasion  of  Florida  created  great  indignation  in  Spain. 
Her  government  had  for  some  time  been  more  or  less  unfriendly  to 
America,  for  she  "had  always  been  dissatisfied  with  Bonaparte's 
transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States."  §  In  the  following 
year,  however,  the  matter  was  adjusted,  and  all  occasion  for  future 
difficulties  at  this  point  removed,  by  a  treaty  "  which,  with  many 
gains,  entailed  some  signal  losses  on  the  United  States."  ||  Spain 
agreed  to  sell  Florida  for  five  million  dollars—"  an  acquisition 
which   proved   of  great  value   to  us   from  every   point  of  view."  IT 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Madison).  f  Ibid-  (Monroe). 

I  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  I.         ?  Ibid.         ||  Ibid.         f  Ibid. 


J»MES  MONROE. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  779 

On  the  other  hand,  although  "  the  whole  of  Texas  was  fairly  in- 
cluded in  the  Louisiana  purchase,"  *  the  United  States  now  agreed 
to  consider  the  Sabine  River  as  its  southwestern  boundary,  thus 
ceding  Texas  to  Mexico. 

In  December,  1818,  Illinois,  the  twenty-first  State,  was  admitted 
to  the  Union.  At  the  same  session  of  Congress  a  bill  was  intro- 
duced to  constitute  the  Territory  of  Missouri  into  a  State.  The 
House  of  Representatives  inserted  a  clause  providing  that  there 
should  be  no  slavery  in  the  State.  The  Senate  struck  it  out,  and 
there  ensued  a  long  struggle  on  "  the  Missouri  question,  as  it  was 
popularly  termed."  f  In  1S20  this  was  settled  by  the  adoption  of 
a  compromise,  which  provided  that  Missouri  should  be  allowed  to 
come  in  as  a  slave  State,  but  that  no  slavery  should  be  permitted 
in  any  State  thereafter  to  be  formed  north  of  the  latitude  of  thirty- 
six  and  a  half  degrees,  the  southern  boundary  of  Missouri. 

The  question  had  been  discussed  with  great  bitterness,  the 
representatives  of  the  North  antagonizing  slavery,  in  opposition  to 
those  of  the  South,  where  slave  labor  was  believed  to  be  necessary 
for  the  great  agricultural  industries  of  cotton,  tobacco,  and  rice. 
But  the  compromise  having  been  adopted,  both  parties  "  accepted 
the  result,  and  for  the  next  twenty  years  no  agitation  of  the  slav- 
ery question  appeared  in  any  political  convention,  or  affected  any 
considerable  body  of  the  people."  X 

Meanwhile  Alabama  (1819)  and  Maine  (1820)  had  been  ad- 
mitted as  States.  The  tariff  question  had  also  risen  into  prom- 
inence. In  1S16  a  bill  levying  moderate  duties  on  imports  had 
been  passed  by  the  influence  of  the  South,  and  against  the  wishes 
of  the  Northern  representatives.  The  opinions  prevalent  in  the 
two  sections  had  since  become  reversed.  The  Northern  States 
favored  an  increase  of  duties,  but  the  Southerners  prevented  it. 

In  1S22  there  were  revolts  throughout  •  Mexico  and  South 
America  against  the  dominion  of  Spain,  to  whom  almost  all  South 
and  Central  America,  with  the  exception  of  Brazil,  had  hitherto 
been  subject.  The  United  States  Government  recognized  the  in- 
dependence of  the  newly-formed  states,  and  in  1823  President 
Monroe  formulated  what  "has  since  been  recognized  as  a  part 
of  the  settled  policy  of  the  Republic,"  §  when  he  declared  in  his 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress.  Vol.  I,  Chap.  I.         f  Ibid.         %  Ibid. 
JLossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Monroe  Doctrine). 


7So 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


message  to  Congress  that  "  the  American  continents  are  not  to  be 
considered  as  subjects  for  future  colonization  by  any  European 
powers."  This  sentence  has  become  historic  as  "  the  Monroe 
doctrine." 

President  Monroe  and  Vice  President  Tompkins  were  re- 
elected in  1820.  As  their  second  term  drew  to  a  close  four  candi- 
dates were  nominated  for  the  Presidency — General  Andrew  Jack- 
son of  Tennessee,  Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky,  and  William  H. 
Crawford  of  Georgia,  by  the  Republicans ;  John  Ouincy  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts,  by  the  opposition.  None  of 
^  them  obtained  a  majority  of  the  electoral  vote. 
The  House  of  Representatives  thereupon 
elected  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  was  the 
son  of  President  John  Adams,  and  "  a 
ripe  scholar,  an  able  diplomatist,  a  life- 
long opponent  of  human  slavery,  and 
an  eloquent  orator."  *  He  had  served  as 
a  foreign  minister,  as  a  senator,  and  as 
Secretary  of  State  under  Monroe.  His 
Vice-President  was  John  C.  Calhoun, 
of  South  Carolina. 

The  administration  of  John  Q. 
Adams  was  uneventful.  The  chief  ques- 
tion in  domestic  politics  was  that  of  the 
tariff,  which  was  debated  with  great  vehe- 
mence. The  Northern  and  Middle  States 
sought  to  increase  the  duties  on  imports,  and 
the  representatives  of  the  South  opposed  them 
strongly.  The  great  champion  of  a  higher 
tariff  was  Daniel  Webster,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  "  was  the  leader  of  the  friends  of  the  administration."  f  Ulti- 
mately, in  1828,  a  bill  was  passed  which  imposed  high  protective 
duties. 

In  February,  1826,  the  government  purchased  from  the 
Creeks  their  lands  in  Georgia,  and  removed  the  Indians  to  a  tract 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  formation 
of  the  Indian  Territory. 

In  the  same  year,  on  the  4th  of  July,  exactly  fifty  years  from 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (John  Q.  Adams).  f  Ibid-  (Webster). 


JOHN    QUINCY    AOAMS. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


78. 


the  da}'  when   they  had  signed   the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
two  Ex-Presidents,  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  died. 

In  1828  President  John  Q.  Adams  was  re-nominated  by  the 
Whigs,  but  was  defeated  by  General  Andrew  Jackson,  the  candi- 
date of  the  Democrats,  as  the  old  Republican  party  was  now  termed. 
John  C.  Calhoun  was  re-elected  Vice-President. 

General  Jackson,  the  victor  of  New  Orleans,  had  had  a  long 
and  distinguished  military  career.  He  "  possessed  great  firmness 
and  decision  of  character;  was  honest  and  true;  not  always  cor- 
rect in  judgment ;  often  rash  in  expressions  and 
actions;  a  patriot  of  purest  stamp."*  He 
took  up  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment with  fearless  energy.  In  his  first 
annual  message  he  attacked  the  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  a  powerful,  but  as 
he  believed,  an  unconstitutional  institu- 
tion. The  bank's  charter  was  about 
to  expire,  and  President  Jackson  urged 
that  it  should  not  be  renewed.  Con- 
gress passed  a  bill  to  re-charter  the 
bank,  but  the  President  defeated  it  by 
a  veto. 

In  1832  a  further  increase  of  the 
tariff  caused  great  indignation  in  the 
South.  The  State  of  South  Carolina 
went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  the  tariff 
laws  were  unconstitutional,  and  therefore 
null  and  void;  that  the  collection  of  the  duties 
in  the  port  of  Charleston  would  not  be  per- 
mitted ;  and  threatened  that  South  Carolina 
would  leave  the  Union.  "  The  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty  and 
supremacy,  and  that  the  Union  was  a  compact  of  States  that  might 
be  dissolved  by  the  secession  of  any  one  of  them,  independent  of 
all  action  on  the  part  of  the  others,  was  honestly  held  by  Mr.  Cal- 
houn," f  who  was  the  leader  of  the  movement. 

President  Jackson  issued  a  proclamation  against  the  "  nullifi- 
ers,"  and  promptly  sent  troops  to  Charleston,  under  General  Scott. 
The  question  was  settled  without  bloodshed.    In  1833  Henry  Clay 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Jackson).       f  Ibid.  (Calhoun). 


ANDREW    JACKSON. 


7S2 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


introduced  a  bill  for  the  gradual  lowering  of  the  tariff,  and  the  dis- 
content in  South  Carolina  was  allayed. 

In  1832  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribes  of  Indians,  in  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Wisconsin,  broke  out  into  rebellion,  led  by  the  chief  Black 
Hawk.  There  was  some  fighting  before  the  hostiles  were  sup- 
pressed and  deported  to  the  newly  formed  Indian  Territory. 


In  the  fall  of  that 
year  President  Jack- 
son was  re-elected, 
with  Martin  Van 
Buren,of  New  York, 
as  his  Vice-Presi- 
dent. His  second 
began  with  another 
ck  upon  the  United 


THE    ATTACK    UPON    FORT    KING    BY    THE    INDIAN    FORCES   OF   OSCEOLA. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


783 


States  Bank,  from  which  he  ordered  all  public  moneys  to  be  re- 
moved. 

In  1834  there  arose  a  dispute  with  the  French  government, 
which  had  agreed  to  pay  five  million  dollars  as  an  indemnity  for 
the  damage  done  to  American  vessels  during  the  wars  of  Napo- 
leon, but  had  withheld  payment.  Jackson's  urgent  demand  pre- 
vented further  delay. 

In  1S35  the  Seminole  Indians  of  Florida  began  a  war  which 
lasted  for  seven  years,  and  cost  the  government  forty  million  dol- 
lars. Major  Dade,  marching  with  117  men  to  reinforce  the  garri- 
son of  Fort  Drane,  was  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  only  four 
of  his  soldiers  escaped.  On  the  same  day  Fort 
King  was  attacked,  and  its  commander,  General 
Thomson,  killed,  by  the  crafty  Seminole  chief, 
Osceola.  The  Indians  were  defeated  by  Gen- 
eral Gaines  and  by  Governor  Call  of  Florida 
in  1836,  but  they  refused  to  submit,  and  re- 
treated into  the  Everglades,  where  pursuit  was 
impossible. 

After  fifteen  years  had  passed  since  the 
admission  of  a  State,  Arkansas  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  Union  in  June,  1836,  and  Michigan 
in  January,  1S37.  This  was  in  accordance 
with  the  recognized  custom  by  which,  to  pre- 
serve the  balance  of  the  sections,  a  Northern 
and  a  Southern  State  were  created  at  or  near 
the  same  time.  "  Kentucky  and  Vermont, 
Tennessee  and  Ohio,  Mississippi  and  Indiana, 
Alabama  and  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Maine,  Arkansas  and  Michigan, 
Florida  and  Iowa,  came  into  the  Union  in  pairs."* 

In  March,  1837,  Jackson  retired  from  the  Presidency.  "Never 
were  the  affairs  of  the  republic  in  its  domestic  and  foreign  relations 
more  prosperous   than  at  the  close  of  his    term  of  office."  f 

At  the  election  of  the  preceding  fall  Martin  Van  Buren,  the 
Vice-President,  had  been  elected  to  succeed  Jackson.  The  opposi- 
tion party,  which  now  was  called  the  Whig  Party,  had  divided  its 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  3. 
f  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Jackson). 


MARTIN    VAN    BUREN. 


784 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


WILLIAM    HENRY     HARRISON 


vote  between  four  candidates,  of  whom  General 
William  H.  Harrison  of  Ohio,  received  the  most 
support. 

Van  Buren's  administration  began  with  a 
|  financial  panic,  following  a  period  of  excessive 
speculation.  Industries  were  stopped,  and  bank- 
ruptcy was  epidemic.  An  extra  session  of  Con- 
gress was  called,  but  could  do  little  to  remedy 
matters.  The  sub-treasury  system  was  an  ex- 
pedient proposed  at  this  time  by  the  President. 

In  the  same  year  (1837)  a  rebellion  in  Canada 
excited  much  sympathy  in  the  United  States,  and 
might  have  led  to  a  war  with  England  had  not 
the  President  taken  prompt  measures  to  prevent 
the  sending  of  any  assistance  to  the  rebels. 

Osceola,  the  leader  of  the  hostile  Seminoles, 
was  captured  by  General  Jessup  in  October,  1837. 
This,  however,  did  not  end  the  war ;  nor  did  Colonel  Zachary  Tay- 
lor's victory  over  the  Indians  at  Lake  Okeechobee,  on  Christmas 
Day,  1838.  The  struggle  was  not  finally  ended 
until  1842. 

The  general  depression  of  business  during 
Van  Buren's  Presidency,  and  the  discontent  thus 
caused,  contributed  largely  to  his  defeat  when 
renominated  by  the  Democrats  in  1840.  The 
successful  candidate  was  General  William  H. 
Harrison  of  Ohio,  the  nominee  of  the  Whigs, 
celebrated  as  the  victor  of  Tippecanoe  and  for  his 
services  in  the  war  of  1S12.  He  died  just  a 
month  after  his  inauguration,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  Vice-President,  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia. 

Congress  again  met  in  special  session  to  deal 
with  the  disturbed  finances  of  the  country. 
Among  other  measures,  it  passed  a  bill  to  re- 
establish a  national  bank.  President  Tyler  vetoed 
the  bill,  a  step  that  aroused  great  indignation 
among  the  Whigs,  who  accused  him  of  breaking  his  pledges.  "  Mr. 
Clay  led  the  attack  upon  him  openly  and  savagely,  and  pursuing 
him    so   violently   that    in    September,   five   months  after    Tyler's 


JOHN    TVLER 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


785 


accession,  every  member  of  his  cabinet  resigned  except  Mr.  Web- 
ster,"* who  remained  in  office  to  complete  the  negotiation  of  the 
Ashburton  treaty,  defining  the  boundary  between  Maine  and 
Canada.  This  question  at  one  time  threatened  to  cause  a  war 
with  England,  but  was  finally  settled  in  1842,  the 
frontier  being  fixed  as  it  now  exists. 

In  1843  and  1844  there  were  local  dis- 
turbances in  Rhode  Island  and  in  Illinois. 
The    constitution    of   Rhode   Island  was 
still  the  old  charter  of  the  colony,  granted 
nearly  two  hundred   years  before.     Ac- 
cording to   its  provisions,  the  right  of 
suffrage  was   restricted   by  a   property 
qualification.      This   brought    about  a 
bitter    controversy    between   the  "suf- 
frage   party,"    who    demanded    a    free 
vote,  and    the  "law  and   order   party," 
which  defended   the    existing    constitu- 
tion.    In  1843  each  party  elected  a  gov- 
ernor, and  the  suffragists,  under  Thomas 
W.  Dorr,  attacked  the  State  arsenal.     Uni- 
ted States  troops  were  called  upon  to  sup- 
press the  brief  civil  war.     Dorr  was  arrested 
and  convicted  of  treason,  but  was  shortly  released, 
and  the  State  constitution  was  amended  to  remove 
the  property  qualification. 

The  disturbance  in  Illinois  was  less  serious.  The  polygamous 
Mormon  sect  had  established  itself  at  Nauvoo,  in  that  State.  In 
1844  its  leader,  Joseph  Smith,  was  lynched  by  a  mob,  and  in  the 
following  year  his  followers  were  forcibly  expelled  from  Illinois. 
They  marched  westward  into  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  settled  in 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley. 

Texas,  which  by  the  treaty  with  Spain  in 
18 19  had  been  ceded  to  Mexico,  had  seceded 
from  that  country  in  1S35.  A  Mexican  army 
under  Santa  Anna  captured  the  Alamo,  a  fort  in 
San  Antonio,  and  massacred  its  defenders,  but 
was  defeated  at  San  Jacinto  by  the  Texans,  com- 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  2. 


SAM    HOUSTON. 


786 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


rnanded  by  Sam  Houston.  Texas  was  then  organized  as  a  republic, 
with  Houston  as  its  President,  and  though  its  "  independence  had 
never  been  conceded  by  Mexico,"  *  it  had  been  recognized  by  the 
United  States  and  other  powers.  "  The  Americans  who,  in  a  spirit 
of  adventure,  migrated  to  Texas  after  that  province  had  revolted 
from  Mexico,  became  the  controlling  power  in  the  young  repub- 
lic," f  and  in  April,  1844,  it  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union. 

The  question  of  the  admission  of  Texas  caused  great  excite- 
ment in  the  United  States.     It  was  generally  opposed  in  the  North 
as  likely  to  lead  to  war  with  Mexico.    On  the  other 
hand,    Calhomi,    the    great    Southern    leader, 
"  urged  the  scheme  of   annexation  with  in- 
ense  earnestness,"  £  and    the    Democratic 
party  favored  it.     In  July  the  Senate  re- 
jected a  treaty  admitting  Texas,  but  the 
question  became  the  principal  issue  in 
the  ensuing  Presidential  campaign. 
Popular  excitement  was  increased  by  a 
dispute  with  England  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Territory  of  Oregon. 

The  Democrats  nominated  James 
K.  Polk  of  Tennessee,  "chiefly  because 
he  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas;  "§  the  Whigs  selected 
Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky.  In  spite  of 
the  great  personal  popularity  of  Mr.  Clay, 
whose  followers  "  had  the  profound  personal 
attachment  which  is  only  looked  for  in  heredi- 
tarv  governments,  where  loyalty  becomes  a  pas- 
sion," ||  Mr.  Polk  was  successful.  There  was  also 
an  Abolitionist  candidate  in  the  field,  James  G.  Birney  of  New 
York,  who  polled  about  sixty  thousand  votes,  "  largely  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Whig  party."  % 

Regarding  the  election  of  Polk  as  "an  unquestionable  verdict 
from  the  people  in  favor  of  the  annexation,"**  Congress,  just  before 
the  expiration  of  President  Tyler's  term,  passed  the  necessary  act. 


JOHN    C.    CALHOUN. 


*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I.,  Chap.  3. 

I  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Polk). 

||  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  2. 


f  Ibid.,  Chap.  2.         %  Ibid. 
1f  Ibid.         **  Ibid. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


737 


Florida  and  Iowa  were  admitted  as  States  two  days  later  (March 
3,  1845). 

The  year  1844  is  also  memorable  for  the  construction,  between 
Washington  and  Baltimore,  of  the  earliest  electric  telegraph,  the 
invention  of  S.  F.  B.  Morse. 

President  Polk's  administration  began  with  two  international 
difficulties.  That  with  England,  on  the  Oregon  question,  was  set- 
tled by  a  treaty  fixing  the  northwestern  boundary  at  latitude  490. 
The  Democratic  campaign  cry  had  been  "54°4o'  or  fight,"  but  it 
had  become  clear  "  that  the  English  government  would  have  gone 
to  war  rather  than  surrender  the  territory  north  of  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel."  * 

The  annexation  of  Texas  led  to  the  Mexican 
War.  "  According  to  the  persistent  claim  of  the 
Mexican  government,  the  Nueces  river  was  the 
western  boundary  of  Texas,"  f  while  the  Texans 
asserted  that  their  territory  extended  to  the  Rio 
Grande.  Early  in  1846  General  Zachary  Taylor, 
who  had  entered  the  disputed  tract,  came  into  col- 
lision with  Mexican  troops,  and  on  the  24th  of 
April  "the  first  blood  was  shed  in  that  contest 
between  the  two  republics  which  was  destined  to 
work  such  important  results  in  the  future  and 
fortunes  of  both."  $ 

The  first  serious  conflict  occurred  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1846,  at  Palo  Alto,  where  "  General  Tay- 
lor, marching  with  less  than  2,300  men  towards 
Fort  Brown,  encountered  about  6,000  Mexicans 
under  General  Arista,"  §  and  defeated  them.  The  forces  met  again 
on  the  following  day  at  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  with  the  same  result. 
On  the  nth  of  May  Congress  declared  war  and  called  for  50,000 
volunteers. 

General  Winfield  Scott  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  United 
States  army;  but  "the  plans  submitted  by  him  for  a  campaign  in 
Mexico  were  disapproved  by  the  administration  "  ||  as  being  unnec- 
essarily hazardous.    "Taylor  was  therefore  left  in  command,"^  and 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  3.        f  Ibid,  Chap.  4. 
X  Ibid,  Chap.  4.         §  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Palo  Alto). 
||  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  9.         f  Ibid,  Chap.  9. 


ZACHARY    TAYLOR. 


44 


7SS  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

advanced  across  the  Rio  Grande.  In  September  he  captured  Mon- 
terey, capital  of  the  province  of  Nuevo  Leon,  and  agreed  to  an 
eight  weeks'  armistice  to  discuss  terms  of  peace. 

Meanwhile  Colonel  Fremont,  who  had  been  at  the  head  of  an 
exploring  expedition  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  had  driven  the  Mex- 
icans from  most  of  California.  Monterey,  Los  Angeles,  and  other 
posts  on  the  coast,  were  captured  by  Commodores  Sloat  and  Stock- 
ton in  July  and  August,  1846.  In  December  General  Kearny  ar- 
rived in  California  as  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  West,  having 
marched  overland  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  On  the  way 
he  occupied  Santa  Fe,  and  detached  Colonel  Doniphan  to  strike 
southward  into  Mexico.  On  Christmas  Day  Doniphan  defeated 
4,000  Mexicans  under  General  de  Leon  at  Bracito,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1847  ne  joined  Taylor's  army. 

In  1847,  negotiations  for  peace  having  failed,  it  was  decided 
to  try  General  Scott's  plan  for  an  invasion  of  Mexico,  by  landing 
at  Vera  Cruz  and  marching  upon  the  capital.  With  this  in  view 
Scott  withdrew  from  Taylor  the  best  portion  of  his  troops.  There- 
upon Santa  Anna  moved  up  with  nearly  20,000  Mexicans  to  at- 
tack Taylor's  remaining  force  of  5,000  men,  which  was  "composed 
almost  entirely  of  volunteers  who  had  not  been  in  battle  before."  * 
The  armies  met  at  Buena  Vista,  where  Taylor  won  a  brilliant 
victory,  forcing  Santa  Anna  to  withdraw  (February  23  and  24, 
1847). 

General  Scott  landed  at  Vera  Cruz  in  March  with  12,000 
men — "  a  very  small  army  with  which  to  penetrate  two  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  into  an  enemy's  country  and  to  besiege  the  cap- 
ital." f  Events  showed  the  wisdom  of  his  plans,  however,  for  "in 
a  campaign  of  about  six  months  he  became  the  conqueror  of  Mex- 
ico." J  After  capturing  Vera  Cruz,  with  its  fort  of  San  Juan  de 
Uloa,  "as  soon  as  transportation  enough  could  be  got  together  to 
move  a  division,  the  advance  was  commenced."  §  A  Mexican  force 
was  drawn  up  to  meet  Scott  at  Cerro  Gordo,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains.  "  Santa  Anna  had  selected  this  point  as  the  easiest  to 
defend  against  an  invading  army,"  ||  but  Scott  outflanked  him  and 
signally  defeated  him  (April    18,   1847).     ^n   May  the  Americans , 

*  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chapter  9.  f Ibid,  Chapter  10. 

X  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Scott). 

\  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chapter  10.  ||  Ibid,  Chapter  10. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  7S9 

entered  Puebla,  where  they  halted  to  rest  and  await  reinforce- 
ments. 

Leaving  Puebla  on  the  7th  of  August,  Scott's  army  crossed 
the  mountains  and  saw  before  it  the  valley  and  city  of  Mexico. 
This  was  defended  by  extensive  fortifications  and  about  32,000 
Mexican  soldiers.  To  avoid  the  strongest  of  the  enemy's  works, 
Scott  ordered  a  detour  to  the  south,  and  approached  the  city  from 
that  direction.  The  fortified  camp  at  Contreras  and  the  fortress 
of  San  Antonio  were  captured  on  August  20th  by  the  divisions  of 
General  Smith  and  General  Worth.  On  the  same  day  the  heights 
of  Cherubusco,  occupied  by  the  Mexicans,  were  attacked  and  carried 
after  a  sharp  struggle.  In  these  operations  "the  strategy  and 
tactics  displa}red  by  General  Scott  were  faultless."  *  His  loss  was 
eleven  hundred,  while  the  enemy  lost  four  thousand  killed  and 
wounded  and  three  thousand  prisoners. 

General  Scott  was  now  within  three  miles  of  the  city  of 
Mexico.  Santa  Anna  applied  for  an  armistice,  which  was  granted, 
and  negotiations  for  peace  were  again  attempted.  Mr.  Trist,  who 
was  with  Scott  as  commissioner  for  the  government,  demanded 
that  "  Texas  was  to  be  given  up  absolutely  by  Mexico,  and  New 
Mexico  and  California  ceded  to  the  United  States  for  a  stipulated 
sum  to  be  afterward  determined."  f  Santa  Anna  rejected  the 
proposal,  and  fighting  was  resumed.  On  September  8th  General 
Worth  captured  the  Mexican  post  at  Molino  del  Rey,  and  on  the 
13th  the  strong  fortress  of  Chapultepec  was  attacked  and  stormed, 
leaving  the  Americans  in  command  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  "Dur- 
ing the  night  Santa  Anna  with  his  army  left  the  city,"$  after 
"liberating  all  the  convicts  confined  in  the  town,"  §  and  on  the 
following  day  Scott's  army  entered  it  and  raised  the  American  flag 
over  the  government  buildings. 

Santa  Anna  moved  upon  Puebla,  where  General  Scott  had 
left  Major  Childs,  in  charge  of  eighteen  hundred  sick  and  wounded. 
Childs  held  the  town  against  Santa  Anna  until  General  Lane  ar- 
rived with  reinforcements  and  drove  him  off.  Meanwhile  negotia- 
tions had  been  opened  with  a  "  temporary  government  established 
at  Queretaro,  ||  which  resulted  in  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of 
peace,  signed  at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  on  the  2d  of  February,  1848. 

♦Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  11.  f  Ibid.,  Chap.  11.  J  Ibid.,  Chap.  II. 

I  Ibid.,  Chap.  11.  ||  Ibid.,  Chap.  12. 


79° 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


By  its  terms  Mexico  accepted  the  demands  previously  made  by  the 
United  States,  recognizing  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  boundary  of 
Texas,  and  receiving  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  for  New  Mexico 
and  California.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1S4S,  President  Polk  pro- 
claimed the  end  of  the  war,  which  had  been  a  brilliant  one  for  the 
American  army.  Our  soldiers  had  repeatedly  vanquished  thrice 
and  four  times  their  numbers  of  the  enemy.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  "  the  Mexican  army  of  that  day  was  hardly 
an  organization."  * 

At  the  beginning  of  184S  there  were  not  more  than  fifteen 
thousand  settlers  in  the  territory  of  California.  In  February  of 
that  year  gold  was  discovered  there,  the  first 
nugget  being  found  by  one  Marshall,  at  Captain 
Sutter's  mill,  on  a  branch  of  the  Sacramento 
River,  in  Coloma  County.  The  discovery  created 
world-wide  excitement,  and  there  was  a  rush  of 
immigration  to  the  gold  fields.  The  Forty-niners, 
as  the  gold  seekers  of  1S49  were  called,  had  to 
reach  California  by  Cape  Horn,  by  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  or  by  a  difficult  and  dangerous  jour- 
ney across  the  great  plains  and  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains ;  but  they  flocked  to  California  in  such  num- 
bers that  its  population  increased  to  100,000,  and 
it  sought  admission  as  a  State.  Wisconsin,  the 
thirtieth  State,  had  just  secured  admission  (May, 
1848),  but  the  application  of  California  led  to  a 
serious  political  conflict. 

For  the  Presidential  election  of  1848  the 
Democrats  nominated  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  and  William  Butler, 
of  Kentucky.  The  Whigs  named  General  Zachary  Taylor,  of 
Louisiana,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Mexican  war,  for  President,  and 
for  Vice-President  Millard  Fillmore,  who  had  served  as  a  Congress- 
man and  as  Controller  of  his  State,  New  York,  "  with  rare  ability 
and  fidelity."  t  Fx-President  Martin  Van  Buren  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Free  Soilers,  whose  platform  demanded  the  prohibition  of 
slavery  in  all  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  The  canvass 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Taylor  and  Fillmore. 

*  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  12. 

f  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Fillmore). 


JAMES    K.     POLK. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  791 

President  Taylor  had  a  "blunt,  honest,  and  stern  character, 
that  endeared  him  to  the  masses  of  the  people."  *  His  brief  ad- 
ministration was  mainly  occupied  by  the  dispute  over  the  admis- 
sion of  California.  The  constitution  provisionally  adopted  had  a 
clause  forbidding  slavey,  and  this  was  opposed  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Southern  States  in  Congress.  The  question  was  de- 
bated with  a  vehemence  that  foreshadowed  the  civil  war,  until  in 
May,  1850,  the  Senate  appointed  a  committee  to  devise  a  plan  of 
compromise.  Henry  Clay,  the  great  Whig  statesman,  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  and  the  chief  author  of  the 
bill  it  drew  up,  which  was  nicknamed  the 
Omnibus  Bill,  on  account  of  the  varied  nature 
of  its  provisions.  It  admitted  California 
with  a  free  constitution.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  provided  for  the  arrest  and  re- 
turn to  their  masters  of  all  slaves  who 
might  escape  to  a  free  State.  At  the 
same  time,  it  abolished  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  created  the 
Territories  of  Utah  and  New  Mexico, 
slavery  being  prohibited  in  the  former 
but  not  in  the  latter.  The  bill  was  ac- 
cepted by  Congress,  and  became  a  law 
in  September,  1850. 

On  the  9th  of  July  President  Taylor 
died  after  a  brief  illness,  and  was  succeeded 
in  office  by  Mr.  Fillmore,  the  Vice-President. 
President  Fillmore  conscientiously  enforced  the 
provisions  of  the  Omnibus  Bill ;   but  it  became 
evident  that  the  compromise  was  only  partially 
successful,  and  that  the  views  of  the  extremists  on  both  sides  were 
irreconcilable. 

In  1 85 1  our  relations  with  Spain  were  imperiled  by  a  filibus- 
tering invasion  of  Cuba,  organized  by  one  Lopez,  who  enlisted  five 
hundred  men  in  the  South  and  Southwest.  On  landing  in  Cuba, 
Lopez's  expedition  was  captured  by  the  Spaniards,  and  some  of  its 
members  were  shot. 

Another  difficulty  with  England  arose  in  the  following  year. 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  2. 


HENRY    CLAY. 


792 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


MILLARD    FILLMORE 


It  had  been  agreed  in  181S  that  American  vessels 
should  not  fish  within  three  miles  of  the  Cana- 
dian shore.  The  Canadians  claimed  that  by  the 
treaty  the  Americans  had  no  right  to  enter  the 
gulfs  and  bays  of  the  coast.  Our  fishermen  held 
that  they  might  do  so,  providing  they  kept  three 
miles  from  land.  In  1852  the  dispute  became  so 
serious  that  British  and  American  war-ships 
were  ordered  to  the  Canadian  coast.  The  diffi- 
culty was  arranged,  however,  without  hostilities, 
although  the  question  was  not  finally  settled. 

In  the  Presidential  campaign  of  that  year 
the  Democratic  candidates  were  Franklin  Pierce 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  William  R.  King  of 
Alabama.  The  Whigs  nominated  General  Win- 
field  Scott  of  New  Jersey,  the  conqueror  of 
Mexico,  and  William  A.  Graham  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Both  of  these  leading  political  parties  indorsed  the  Omnibus 
Bill,  though  it  was  thoroughly  popular  with  neither.  It  was  openly 
opposed  by  the  Free-Soilers,  whose  candidate  for 
the  Presidency  was  John  P.  Hale  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Mr.  Pierce,  who  had  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  Mexican  war  and  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  was  successful,  receiving  a  large  majority 
of  the  electoral  vote. 

Two  great  statesmen  died  in  1852  —  Henry 
Clay,  the  Whig  leader,  and  Daniel  Webster,  the 
Massachusetts  Senator.  Webster's  fame  was  as 
an  orator  and  jurist.  The  speech  he  delivered 
in  the  Senate,  in  reply  to  Hayne  of  South  Caro- 
lina, is  "  considered  the  most  correct  and  com- 
plete exposition  ever  given  of  the  true  powers 
and  functions  of  the  national  government."  * 

In  March,  1853,  President  Fillmore  retired 
from  office,  "leaving  the  country  in  a  state  of 
peace  within  and  without,  and  every  department 
of  industry  flourishing,"  f  although  the  bitterness  of  political  par- 
tisanship was  very  great.     The  earliest  acts  of  his  successor's  ad- 

*  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Webster).         f  Ibid.  (Fillmore). 


FRANKLIN     PIERCE 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


793 


ministration  were  the  creation  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  and  the 
sending  out  of  expeditions  to  survey  a  route  for  a  railroad  to  the 
Pacific  coast. 

Commodore  Perry,  who  had  been  despatched  to  Japan  by  Presi- 
dent Fillmore  to  endeavor  to  open  that  country  to  American  com- 
merce, reached  Jeddo  with  his  squadron  in  the  summer  of  1S53.  He 
succeeded  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  emperor,  by  which  Amer- 
ica was  the  first  western  nation  to  be  admitted  to  Japanese  ports. 

The  conflict  of  parties  in  and  out  of  Congress  was  renewed  by 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  brought  forward  in  1S53 
by  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois.     It 
created  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska, and  left  the  question  of  slavery  to 
be    decided    by    their    inhabitants,  or   by 
"  Squatter  Sovereign ty,"  as  it  was  gener- 
ally termed.      This  was  contrary  to  the 
Missouri    Compromise   of    1S20,    which 
prohibited     slavery    in     all     territories 
north  of   latitude    360   30'.      Neverthe- 
less, in   spite   of  strenuous   opposition, 
the  bill  passed  through    Congress  and 
became  a  law  in  May,  1854. 

A  violent  struggle  ensued  in  Kan- 
sas between  the  advocates    and    the    op- 
ponents of  slavery  in  the  Territory.      So 
much  blood  was  shed  in  the  contest  that  the 
Territory  was  termed  "  Bleeding  Kansas,"  and 
the  civil  war  of  its  hostile  parties  created  great 
excitement  throughout  the  countr}-. 

The  conflict  in  Kansas  was  still  in  progress 
when  the  time  came  for  the  election  of  1S56.  In  the  summer  the 
Democrats  nominated  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  Presi- 
dent, and  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  Vice-President, 
and  indorsed  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act.  The  Whig  party  had  become 
disintegrated,  the  great  majority  of  its  members  having  joined 
the  new  Republican  party.  This  had  sprung  into  existence  on 
the  issue  of  slavery,  and  declared  that  all  the  Territories  should 
be  free — the  doctrine  of  the  old  Free-Soilers.  The  Republican 
candidates  were  John  C.  Fremout,  of  California,  whose  successful 


DANIEL    WEBSTER. 


794 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


explorations  in  the  far  West  had  won  him  the  sobriquet  of  the 
"Path-finder,"  and  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey.  The  small 
American,  or  "  Know-Nothing"  party,  which  advocated  the  restric- 
tion of  foreign  immigration,  nominated  ex-President  Fillmore.  At 
the  polls  Buchanan  and  Breckinridge  were  victorious. 

President  Buchanan's  term  of  office  was  marked  chiefly  by  the 
alarming  increase  of  sectional  animosities.  The  Fugitive  Slave 
Law — that  part  of  the  Omnibus  Bill  compromise  which  provided  for 
the  arrest  of  escaped  slaves — was  extremely  unpopular  in  the  North. 
The  opponents  of  slavery  maintained  a  system  known  as  the  "  Un- 
derground Railroad,"  by  which  slaves  were  secretly  aided  to  escape. 
Several  Northern  legislatures  met  the  Federal 
law  with  Personal  Liberty  Bills,  securing  a  trial 
to  fugitive  negroes.  These  bills,  in  turn,  aroused 
much  indignation  in  the  South,  where  they  were 
regarded  as  being  in  violation  of  the  Constitution. 
In  1 85  7  the  Mormons  of  Salt  Lake  City,  led 
by  Brigham  Young,  expelled  a  United  States  judge 
from  Utah,  and  openly  defied  the  Federal  author- 
ities. Troops  were  sent  to  suppress  the  rebellion, 
which  subsided  upon  their  arrival. 

Minnesota  was  admitted  as  a  State  in  May, 
185S,  and  Oregon  in  the  following  February. 
This  finally  destroyed  the  balance  in  the  number 
of  free  and  slave  States,  long  maintained  by  the 
admission  of  States  in  pairs,  a  Northern  and  a 
Southern  State  being  created  at  about  the  same 
time.  There  were  now  eighteen  Northern  and 
fifteen  Southern  States,  giving  the  former  a  majority  of  six  in  the 
Senate.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  its  majority  was  sixty, 
owing  to  the  rapid  expansion  of  population  in  the  North,  whither 
immigrants  were  flocking  in  rapidly  increasing  numbers. 

In  October,  1859,  occurred  an  incident  that  greatly  embittered 
the  feeling  between  North  and  South.  John  Brown,  a  Free-Soil  ex- 
tremist in  Kansas,  organized  a  raiding  party  of  twenty-one  men 
and  seized  the  United  States  arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia, 
with  the  avowed  object  of  causing  a  rising  of  the  slaves.  In  this 
he  was  unsuccessful.  After  holding  the  arsenal  for  two  da}^s,  he 
was  attacked  by  a  body  of  State  and  National  troops,  and  his  men, 


JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


HLSTORY    OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  795 

except  two,,  who  escaped,  were  killed  or  captured.  Brown  was  tried 
by  the  State  of  Virginia,  convicted,  and  hanged. 

The  one  great  issue  of  the  Presidential  campaign  of  i860  was 
the  slavery  question.  The  foreign  relations  of  the  country  were 
at  this  time  uniformly  peaceful.  "The  long  series  of  irritating 
and  dangerous  questions  which  had  disturbed  the  relations  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  from  the  time  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  had  reached  final  and  friendly  solution."  * 
But  while  foreign  affairs  were  on  so  satisfactory  a  footing,  the 
political  prospect  at  home  was  a  troubled  one. 

In  April,  the  Democratic  nominating  convention  met  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.  The  delegates  of  extreme  Southern  views,  finding 
themselves  unable  to  control  the  convention,  left  it  in  a  body,  and 
nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky.  The  delegates 
who  remained  in  the  convention  named  Stephen  «A.  Douglas,  of 
Illinois,  while  a  third  section,  which  termed  itself  the  Union  party, 
put  forward  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee.  While  the  Democrats  were 
thus  hopelessly  split,  the  Republicans  were  united  for  Abraham 
Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  for  President,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine, 
for  Vice-President.  The  result  was  the  election  of  Lincoln  in  No- 
vember. 

Throughout  the  canvass  Southern  extremists  had  threatened 
that  if  Lincoln  should  be  elected  the  South  would  leave  the  Union, 
and  declared  that  they  would  not  tolerate  the  administration  of  a 
President  who  was  avowedly  opposed  to  slavery.  When  the  re- 
sult of  the  election  was  known  they  proceeded  to  prove  that  they 
meant  what  they  said.  On  the  17th  of  December  a  convention 
met  at  Charleston,  which,  on  the  20th,  declared  that  South  Caro- 
lina was  no  longer  one  of  the  United  States.  Six  others — Missis- 
sippi, Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Texas, —  took 
similar  steps  before  the  end  of  January,  and  on  the  4th  of  Febru- 
ary a  convention  met  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  and  formed  a  new 
government  under  the  name  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 
It  elected  Jefferson  Davis,  up  to  that  time  United  States  Senator 
from  Mississippi,  President,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Geor- 
gia, Vice-President. 

Almost  all  the  United  States  forts  and  posts  throughout  the 
Southern  States  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  secessionists,  with 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  Chapter  26. 


796  HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 

a  vast  quantity  of  arms  and  stores,  valued  in  all  at  nearly  twenty 
millions  of  dollars.  The  government  at  Washington  did  nothing. 
The  President's  cabinet  was  largely  composed  of  Southern  sympa- 
thizers. General  Cass,  the  Secretary  of  State,  who  favored  an  ac- 
tive policy,  was  forced  to  resign  by  the  President's  apathy. 

Neither  section  understood  the  other.  The  general  opinion 
in  the  North  was  that  the  South  would  not  take  up  arms  when  it 
had  four  millions  of  slaves  in  its  population.  The  South  believed 
that  the  North  would  not  fight  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Union. 
But  meanwhile  the  country  was  drifting  into  civil  war. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1861,  the  steamer  Star  of  the  West, 
despatched  to  relieve  Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston  Harbor — one  of 
the  few  Southern  forts  still  held  by  the  Federal  government — was 
fired  upon  and  driven  off.  Fven  after  this  overt  act  of  hostility, 
President  Buchanan  adopted  no  decided  plan  of  action.  He  declared 
that  he  had  "no  authority  to  decide  what  shall  be  the  relations 
between  the  Federal  government  and  South  Carolina."  * 

In  January,  1861,  Kansas,  where  the  anti-slavery  party  had 
finally  been  victorious,  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  the  President  elect,  and  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  figures  of  American  history,  was  a  man  of 
humble  origin.  Born  in  Kentucky  in  1809,  he  grew  to  manhood 
in  what  was  then  the  backwoods  of  Indiana.  At  twenty-one,  mov- 
ing to  Illinois,  he  became  the  keeper  of  a  store.  Then,  a  self- 
taught  lawyer,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  and  to  Con- 
gress. He  was  brought  into  national  prominence  by  his  unsuccess- 
ful contest  against  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  a  seat  in  the  Senate. 

Since  his  election  to  the  Presidency,  so  bitter  had  been  the 
speeches  of  his  extreme  opponents,  that  fears  were  entertained  for 
his  personal  safety  on  his  journey  to  Washington.  But  after  mak- 
ing "a  quick  and  secret  night  journey  through  Baltimore  to  the 
Federal  capital,"  f  he  was  inaugurated  without  disturbance  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1861.  For  his  cabinet,  "  Mr.  Lincoln  chose  his  ablest 
friends,"  J  the  most  noted  members  being  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State;  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War;  and  Sal- 
mon P.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Expecting  that  Fort  Sumter  would  be  reinforced  by  the  Fed- 

*  Nicolay  &  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  Ill,  Chapter  5. 

f  Ibid,  Vol.  Ill,  Chapter  20.  J  Ibid,  Vol.  Ill,  Chapter  22. 


tSTcUsk^ 


•c-cr^v 


FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    TAKEN    BEFORE    HIS    ELECTION    IN    1860. 


(797) 


798  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

eral  government,  the  Confederate  forces  at  Charleston  decided  to 
attack  it.  On  the  12th  of  April,  "at  about  half-past  four,  as  the 
dim  outline  of  Fort  Sumter  began  to  define  itself  in  the  morning 
twilight,"  *  the  bombardment  began,  and  on  the  13th  Major  Ander- 
son, commanding  the  fort,  surrendered  it.  The  news  that  the  Con- 
federates had  thus  made  "active,  aggressive  war  upon  the  United 
States  "  f  caused  great  excitement  throughout  the  country.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  at  once  issued  a  call  for  75,000  volunteers,  to  serve 
three  months,  and  the  summons  met  with  a  ready  response  in  the 
North. 

The  fall  of  Sumter  heightened  the  enthusiasm  of  the  South. 
On  the  17th  of  April  Virginia  passed  a  secession  ordinance.  Bodies 
of  State  militia  were  immediately  despatched  to  seize  the  United 
States  arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  great  navy  yard  at  Nor- 
folk. The  commander  of  the  arsenal  abandoned  it,  after  firing  the 
buildings  and  destroying  a  part  of  the  stores.  The  same  course 
was  taken  by  the  Federal  officers  at  the  Norfolk  navy  yard,  the  war 
ships  there  being  sunk  or  burned,  and  the  cannon  spiked.  The 
Confederates,  however,  captured  an  immense  amount  of  guns  and 
stores,  and  afterwards  raised  some  of  the  sunken  vessels. 

Three  more  States  followed  their  Southern  sisters  out  of  the 
Union — Arkansas,  May  6;  North  Carolina,  May  20;  and  Tennes- 
see, June  6.  This  raised  the  number  of  the  Confederate  States  to 
eleven. 

The  first  volunteer  regiment  to  arrive  in  Washington  was  the 
Sixth  Massachusetts.  While  passing  through  Baltimore  on  its 
way  to  the  capital,  on  the  19th  of  April,  it  was  attacked  by  a  mob, 
and  "lost  four  men  killed  and  thirty-six  wounded."  $  Other  reg- 
iments rapidly  followed,  and  on  the  3rd  of  May  the  President  is- 
sued a  call  for  eighty  thousand  additional  troops,  to  serve  for  three 
years,  "swelling  the  entire  military  establishment  of  the  nation  to 
an  army  of  156,861,  and  a  navy  of  25,600."  § 

At  this  time  "Lieutenant-General  Scott  commanded  the  army 
in  chief."  The  conqueror  of  Mexico,  although  a  Virginian,  and 
though  he  personally  "deprecated  war,"^[  had  adhered  to  the  Fed- 
eral cause.    So  quickly  had  the  Northern  States  answered  President 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  3.  f  Ibid,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  3. 

X  Ibid,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  6.  g  Ibid,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  14. 

||  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chapter  8.         %  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  IV.,  Chapter  5. 


HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  799 

Lincoln's  call  that  "all  fears  for  the  safety  of  the  capital  had  ceased, 
and  quite  a  large  force  of  regulars  and  volunteers  had  been  col- 
lected in  and  about  Washington."  * 

On  the  23rd  of  May,  a  brigade  commanded  by  General  Irwin 
McDowell  crossed  the  Potomac  and  occupied  Alexandria.  After 
two  months  of  drilling  and  organizing  the  recruits,  "  the  cry  of 
1  On  to  Richmond !  '  forced  General  Scott  to  hasten  his  preparations 
and  order  a  general  advance  about  the  middle  of  July."  f  As  yet  the 
Federal  troops  were  "  far  from  being  soldiers."  J  General  Sherman, 
who  was  under  McDowell,  asserts  that  on  the  march,  "  with  all  his 
personal  efforts,  he  could  not  prevent  the  men  from  straggling  for 
water,  blackberries,  or  any  thing  on  the  way  they  fancied."  § 

Richmond  had  been  selected  as  the  capital  of  the  seceded 
States,  whose  government  was  to  assemble. there  on  the  20th  of 
July.  At  the  beginning  of  the  month  the  Confederates  "  had  two 
armies  in  front  of  Washington  ;  the  one  at  Manassas  Junction, 
commanded  by  General  Beauregard ;  the  other,  commanded  by 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  was  at  Winchester."  j  On  the  21st 
of  July  McDowell  attacked  Beauregard.  The  ensuing  battle  of  Bull 
Run  was  "  one  of  the  best  planned  battles  of  the  war,  but  one  of  the 
worst  fought."  Tf  Johnston  arriving  to  reinforce  Beauregard,  Mc- 
Dowell's troops  became  panic-stricken  and  fled  in  disorder.  Had 
the  Confederate  army  pursued  them,  it  might  have  entered  the 
Federal  capital.  Indeed,  Johnston's  "  failure  to  capture  Washing- 
ton received  strong  and  general  condemnation  in  the  South."  ** 

Meanwhile  hostilities  had  begun  at  other  points.  General 
George  B.  McClellan,  who  after  serving  in  the  Mexican  war  had 
retired,  and  had  become  "president  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
railroad, "ff  was  placed  in  command  of  a  Union  force  in  western  Vir- 
ginia. He  defeated  the  Confederates  at  Philippi  on  June  3,  and  at 
Rich  Mountain  on  July  11.  He  was  then  called  to  Washington  to 
take  command  of  the  army  there.  General  Rosecrans,  who  succeeded 
him  in  Western  Virginia,  won  the  battles  of  Carnifex  Ferry  and 
Cheat  Mountain,  and  drove  the  Confederates  from  that  part  of  the 
State  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chapter  S.         f  Ibid,  Chapter  8.         J  Ibid,  Chapter  8. 
§  Ibid.  Chapter  8.  ||  Ibid,   Chapter  S.  If  Ibid.  Chapter  8. 

**  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chapter  2. 
ft  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  16. 


8oO  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

Kentucky  and  Missouri,  although  slave  holding  States,  had  not 
joined  the  Confederacy.  The  sympathies  of  their  citizens  were  di- 
vided. General  Polk,  ordered  by  the  Richmond  government  to 
occupy  Kentucky,  blocked  the  Mississippi  by  fortifying  Columbus. 
In  Missouri,  the  secession  party  made  a  great  effort  to  carry  the 
State  out  of  the  Union.  "  Governor  Jackson,  having  decided  on 
revolution,  formed  at  St.  Louis  a  nominal  camp  of  instruction 
under  the  State  Militia  laws,"  *  where  he  designed  to  assemble  a 
Confederate  army.  But  the  camp  was  broken  up  by  General  Lyon, 
who  defeated  Jackson's  forces  at  Booneville  on  June  17,  1861.  Jack- 
son was  again  defeated  by  Colonel  Siegel  at  Carthage  on  July  5th. 
General  Lyon  was  killed  at  Wilson's  Creek  on  the  10th  of  August, 
and  the  Confederate  General  Price  on  September  20th  captured  2,600 
Union  troops  at  Lexington.  In  November,  General  Halleck,  a  man 
"not  only  practically  accomplished  in  his  profession  as  a  soldier, 
but  also  distinguished  as  a  writer  on  military  art  and  science,"  f 
was  appointed  to  command  the  Federal  army  of  the  West,  and  drove 
Price  southward  toward  Arkansas. 

A  brigade  of  Halleck's  army  was  stationed  at  Cairo,  "  the  mili- 
tary key  of  the  Mississippi  Valley."  J  From  this  point  3,000  men 
under  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant  were  sent  to  attack  the  Confederate 
camp  at  Belmont,  on  the  Mississippi  opposite  Columbus,  but  re- 
treated after  fighting  "a  drawn  battle,"  §  November  7,  1861. 

On  taking  command  at  Washington,  General  McClellan  busied 
himself  during  the  fall  and  winter  in  drilling  and  organizing  his 
army  of  recruits.  The  only  battle  fought  during  the  remainder  of 
the  year  was  that  of  Ball's  Bluff,  on  the  Potomac,  in  which  1,900 
Union  troops  under  Colonel  Baker  were  defeated  with  heavy  loss 
by  General  Fvans,  October  21. 

At  sea,  the  Federal  government  had  in  April  proclaimed  a 
blockade  of  all  the  Southern  ports.  Almost  all  the  forts  and  de- 
fenses on  the  coast  had  been  seized  by  the  Confederates  at  the  out- 
break of  the  war.  Fort  Pickens,  at  Pensacola,  had  been  held  by  its 
commander.  The  fortifications  at  Hatteras  Inlet  were  captured  by 
Commodore  Stringham  and  General  Butler  in  August,  and  in  No- 
vember the  important  harbor  of  Port  Royal,  South  Carolina,  was 
taken. 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  IV",  Chapter  II.        f  Ibid,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  5. 
t  Ibid,  Vol.  IV,  Chapter  10.  I  Ibid,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  7. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  8oi 

In  October  the  Richmond  government  despatched  two  com- 
missioners, Mason  and  Slidell,  to  treat  with  the  French  and  British 
governments.  After  running  the  blockade  from  Charleston,  they 
reached  Cuba,  and  took  passage  for  England  on  the  British  ship 
Trent.  Captain  Wilkes,  in  the  United  States  steamer  San  Ja- 
cinto, stopped  the  Trent,  seized  Mason  and  Slidell,  and  carried 
them  to  Boston.  His  action,  of  doubtful  legality,  caused  great 
excitement  in  England,  and  "  seriously  threatened  to  embroil  the 
nation  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain."  *  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State,  at  once  declared  that  Captain  Wilkes  had  acted  without 
authority,  and  the  two  commissioners  were  allowed  to  sail  for 
England   from  Boston.      Their  missions  proved  entirely  fruitless. 

The  year  1862  "brought  stirring  events  to  the  armies  in  the 
West."  f  The  fighting  opened  in  Kentucky.  General  Sherman, 
ordered  to  Louisville  in  the  preceding  fall,  had  complained  that 
his  "force  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  posi- 
tion." %  A  large  army  had  now  been  stationed  in  that  section, 
under  General  Buell.  Two  of  Buell's  subordinates,  Colonel  Gar- 
field and  General  Thomas,  won  the  battles  of  the  Big  Sandy  and 
Mill  Spring,  respectively,  in  January,  1862. 

General  Grant,  in  command  of  a  brigade  of  Halleck's  army, 
had  suggested  to  that  officer  that,  "if  permitted,  he  could  take 
and  hold  Fort  Henry,  on  the  Tennessee,"  §  an  important  Confed- 
erate position.  He  was  ordered  to  advance  on  the  fort,  while  a 
fleet  of  gunboats,  under  Commodore  Foote,  was  ordered  to  attack 
it  from  the  river.  Before  Grant  reached  the  fort  it  had  surrendered 
to  the  gunboats,  February  6. 

Most  of  its  garrison  had  escaped  to  Fort  Donelson,  on  the 
Cumberland  River,  twelve  miles  away.  General  Grant,  "  knowing 
the  importance  of  the  place,"  ||  pushed  on  to  attack  it.  He  was 
obliged  to  wait  until  February  14  before  the  gunboats  could  steam 
down  the  Tennessee  to  Cairo,  and  up  the  Cumberland  to  Fort  Don- 
elson. The  fort  was  a  strong  post.  To  reduce  it  Grant  had 
"15,000  men,  including  eight  batteries,"^"  while  it  was  "probable 
that  the  Confederate  force  was  21,000."**  On  the  15th  the  defend- 
ers attempted  to  break  Grant's  lines,  but  were  repulsed,  and  their 

*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  2.  f  Ibid.,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  7. 

I  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chapter  8.  §  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chapter  21. 

||  Ibid.,  Chapter  21.  If  Ibid.,  Chapter  21.  **  Ibid.,  Chapter  22. 


So2  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Generals,  Floyd  and  Pillow,  fled  with  a  part  of  the  garrison. 
Next  day  General  Buckner,  on  whom  the  command  had  devolved, 
offered  to  treat  with  Grant,  who  returned  the  famous  message, 
"  No  terms  except  an  unconditional  and  immediate  surrender  can 
be  accepted.  I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works."  * 
Buckner  thereupon  surrendered  the  fort,  with  12,000  men — the 
greatest  success  yet  achieved  by  the  Federal  forces. 

Owing  to  a  misunderstanding  with  Halleck,  Grant  was  for  a 
time,  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  "virtually  under  arrest 
and  without  a  command, "f  althongh  he  "had  done  so  much  that 
General  Halleck  should  have  been  patient."  J  He  was,  however, 
speedily  reinstated,  and  moved  his  forces  southward  toward  Cor- 
inth, "the  great  stragetic  position  being  the  Tennessee  and  Missis- 
sippi Rivers,  and  between  Nashville  and  Vicksburg."  § 

At  this  time  "  all  the  Confederate  troops  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains,  with  the  exception  of  those  in  the  extreme 
South,"  ||  were  commanded  by  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston, 
"  a  man  of  high  character  and  ability,  but  vacillating  and  undecided 
in  his  actions."  ^f  After  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson,  General  John- 
ston "abandoned  Nashville  and  fell  back  into  northern  Missis- 
sippi." **  On  April  6,  1862,  he  suddenly  attacked  Grant's  army, 
which  was  at  Shiloh  Church,  near  Pittsburg  Landing,  on  the 
Tennessee.  The  ensuing  battle  of  Shiloh  "was  the  severest  bat- 
tle fought  in  the  West  during  the  war,"  ff  and  one  that  has  been 
the  subject  of  a  great  deal  of  controversy."^  The  Union  forces, 
whose  "  effective  strength  was  33,000,"  §§  were  during  the  first  day 
driven  back,  after  some  desperate  fighting  in  which  General  John- 
ston was  killed.  On  the  7th  Grant  was  reinforced  by  General 
Lewis  Wallace,  who  "did  not  arrive  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
first  day's  fight."  ||  The  Federal  troops  recovered  their  lost 
ground  and  drove  the  Confederates  from  the  field — a  success  which 
"  gave  the  men  that  achieved  it  great  confidence."  %% 

Meanwhile  "  the  Array  of  the  Mississippi,  commanded  by 
Major-General  John  M.  Pope,  was  moving  directly  down  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  against  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  line  which, 

*  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  22.     flbid.,  Chap.  23.     J  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  9. 

<j  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  24.     ||  Ibid.,  Chap.  23.     If  Ibid.,  Chap.  25.     **  Ibid.,  Chap.  23. 

f\  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  25.     JJ  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  9. 

\\  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  25.     ||||  Ibid.,  Chap.  24.     \\  Ibid.,  Chap.  25. 


HISTORY    OK    THE    UNITED    STATES.  803 

under  Generals  Polk  and  Pillow,  had  fallen  back  from  Columbus, 
Kentucky,  to  Island  No.  10  and  New  Madrid."  *  Pope,  who, 
"though  still  a  young  man,  was  a  veteran  soldier,"  and  "had 
served  with  great  distinction  in  the  Mexican  war,"  f  captured  Isl- 
and No.  10,  with  5000  prisoners,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1S62.  The 
Union  gunboats  captured  Fort  Pillow  ou  June  4,  and  two  days 
later  Memphis  surrendered  to  them. 

In  August  the  Confederates  made  another  attempt  to  conquer 
Kentucky.  "  Two  Confederate  armies,  under  General  Kirby  Smith 
and  General  Braxton  Bragg,  penetrated  "J  into  that  State  from 
eastern  Tennessee.  Smith  defeated  a  Union  force  at  Richmond) 
Kentucky  (August  30),  and  Bragg  captured  a  body  of  4500  men  at 
Mumfordsville  (September  17).  After  threatening  Cincinnati  and 
Louisville,  the  two  Confederate  armies  united  at  Frankfort,  and  on 
the  8th  of  October  met  Buell's  forces  in  the  severe  battle  of  Perry- 
ville.  Buell  had  the  best  of  the  fight,  but  Bragg's  troops  "  retired 
in  good  order,"  §  and  took  a  vast  quantity  of  captured  stores  into 
Tennessee. 

After  the  battle  of  Shiloh  General  Halleck  "  reorganized  and 
rearranged  the  whole  army"  ||  on  the  Tennessee,  reinforcing  Grant's 
troops  with  those  of  General  Pope.  Corinth,  evacuated  by  the  Con- 
federates, was  occupied  on  the  30th  of  May.  Halleck  was  then  sum- 
moned to  Washington  to  become  general  in  chief,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Grant,  who  prepared  to  move  against  the  Confederate  stronghold 
at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi.  He  sent  Sherman  down  the  Mississippi 
with  40,000  men  and  Admiral  Porter's  gunboats,  while  he  himself 
pushed  forward  by  laud.  But  the  Confederate  General  Van  Dorn 
got  into  Grant's  rear,  cut  off  his  supplies  at  Holly  Springs,  and 
forced  him  to  retreat.  Sherman  embarked  at  Memphis,  landed 
north  of  Vicksburg,  and  attacked  the  works  at  Chickasaw  Bayou, 
where  he  was  decisively  repulsed  (December  29,  1862). 

Meanwhile  General  Rosecrans,  in  command  at  Corinth,  had 
been  attacked  (October  4)  by  Generals  Price  and  Van  Dorn,  but  had 
driven  them  off  with  heavy  loss.  He  then  marched  against  Bragg, 
who  had  just  retreated  from  Kentucky.  They  met  in  the  bloody 
battle  of  Stone  River,  near  Murfreesboro  (December  31,  1862,  to 
January  2,  1863),  which  although  "a  negative  victory  so  far  as  con- 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  10.         f  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VI,  Chap.  1. 
X  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  11.         \  Ibid.         ||  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  10. 

45 


804  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

cerned  the  result  on  the  battle-field,"  *  was  on  the  whole  a  Federal 
success,  and  "  West  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  were  never  again  seri- 
ously threatened  by  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy."  f 

In  Missouri  there  was  fighting  during  the  early  part  of  1862 
between  the  Confederates  under  Price,  McCullough,  and  Van  Dorn, 
and  a  Union  force  under  General  Curtis,  whose  "strength  through- 
out the  campaign  was  about  fifteen  thousand  men."J  The  latter 
was  victorious  in  the  important  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  fought  in 
Arkansas,  March  7. 

Early  in  the  year  a  Federal  fleet  and  army  assembled  at  Ship 
Island,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  to  operate  against  the 
southern  coast  of  the  Confederacy.  "  New  Orleans,  being  the  most 
important  prize,  both  military  and  political,  became  the  principal 
objective  point,"  §  and  in  April  the  attack  was  begun.  The  fleet 
was  commanded  by  Admiral  Farragut,  a  man  "  sixty  years  of  age, 
forty-eight  of  which  had  been  spent  in  the  naval  service."  ||  On  the 
24th  of  April  he  ran  past  Forts  St.  Philip  and  Jackson,  which  de- 
fended the  entrance  to  the  Mississippi,  attacked  and  destroj^ed  a 
Confederate  squadron,  and  on  the  following  day  reached  New  Or- 
leans, of  which  the  troops  under  General  Butler  at  once  took  pos- 
session. Farragut  went  on  to  Baton  Rouge,  and,  passing  Vicksburg, 
joined  the  squadron  of  the  upper  Mississippi  at  Memphis. 

In  January,  1S62,  an  expedition  under  General  Burnside  sailed 
to  attack  Roanoke  Island,  on  the  North  Carolina  coast.  It  was 
completely  successful,  capturing  the  island,  destroying  the  Con- 
federate fleet  in  Albemarle  Sound,  and  taking  Fort  Macon  and 
Newbern.  In  March  another  expedition,  from  Port  Royal,  took 
Jacksonville,  Florida,  Brunswick,  Georgia,  and  other  towns  on  the 
coast. 

On  the  8th  of  March  the  Federal  fleet  that  lay  in  Hampton 
Roads,  off  Fortress  Monroe,  was  attacked  by  the  Merrimac.  This 
was  one  of  the  ships  sunk  at  the  surrender  of  the  Norfolk  navy 
yard.  The  Confederates  had  raised  her,  covered  her  deck  with 
railroad  iron,  fitted  her  with  a  ram,  and  named  her  the  Virginia. 
She  now  rammed  and  sank  the  Union  ship  Cumberland,  and  drove 

*  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  13. 

f  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VI,  Chap.  13. 

X  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  13. 

$  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  V,  Chap.  15.         ||  Ibid. 


I 
o 


o 


(805) 


8o6 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


the  Congress  ashore.  At  sunset  she  returned  to  Norfolk.  On  the 
following  day,  returning  to  complete  the  destruction  of  the  Federal 
fleet,  she  was  met  by  the  Monitor,  an  iron  turret  ship  of  novel  con- 
struction, which  had  just  arrived  from  the  North.  In  the  duel  that 
followed,  the  Merrimac  was  disabled  and  driven  back  to  Norfolk. 

In  April,  the  capture  of  Fort  Pulaski  by  the  Federals,  under 
General  Hunter,  closed  the  port  of  Savannah. 

Of  all  the  campaigns  of  1862  the  most  important  was  fought 


ENCOUNTER    BETWEEN  THE   MONITOR   AND   MERRIMAC   IN   HAMPTON   ROADS  ON   MARCH   8,   1862. 

in  northern  and  eastern  Virginia.  On  the  ioth  of  March  Mc- 
Clellan  crossed  the  Potomac,  but  after  advancing  a  short  distance 
he  decided  "that  operations  would  best  be  undertaken  from  Old 
Point  Comfort,  between  the  York  and  James  rivers."  *  The  bulk 
of  his  army  was  transported  thither  by  April  2,  and  he  moved  up 
the  peninsula  between  the  rivers,  toward  Richmond.  At  Yorktown 
Magruder,  with  10,000  Confederate  troops,  held  him  at  bay  for  a 
month,  but  evacuated  the  place  on  May  4.  McClellan  then  advanced 
rapidly,  winning   the  battles  of  Williamsburg  (Ma)-  5)  and  West 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  10. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


S07 


Point  (May  9).     At  the  end  of  the  month  his  advance  guard  was 
only  seven  miles  from  Richmond. 

Confederate  forces  were  hastily  collected  from  all  quarters  for 
-the  defense  of  their  capital.  The  navy  yard  at  Norfolk  was  de- 
stroyed and  abandoned,  the  Virginia,  or  Merrimac,  being  blown 
up.  With  all  the  troops  he  could  gather  General  Joseph  E.  John- 
ston attacked  McClellan  at  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks  (May  31 
and  June  1),  but  was  defeated  and  severely  wounded. 

Notwithstanding  his  success,  McClellan  delayed  moving  upon 
Richmond.  He  overrated  his  opponent's  strength,  "  as  was  gener- 
ally done  by  the  opposing  commanders  during  the  war,"*  and 
"kept  up  a  continual  cry  for  reinforcements."  f 
His  inactivity  gave  the  Confederates  time  to  make 
their  army  "stronger  in  numbers  than  it  had  ever 
been  before."  $  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  had 
succeeded  Johnston,  attacked  him  on  the  25th  of 
June  in  the  first  of  the  "  seven  days' 
battles."  Though  he  repelled  Lee's  as- 
saults on  the  first  two  days,  McClellan 
fell  back  toward  the  James  River.  On 
the  27th,  at  Gaines'  Mill,  he  was 
heavily  defeated.  After  two  more  inde- 
cisive battles  he  reached  Malvern  Hill, 
on  the  James,  where  Lee  was  driven 
back  by  the  fire  of  the  Union  gun- 
boats. 

McClellan's  Peninsula  campaign  had 
proved  a  failure.  The  stubborn  "re- 
sistance of  the  Confederates  compelled  the  Federal  general  to 
abandon  his  plan  of  operations,"  §  and  his  army  was  withdrawn 
down  the  James. 

At  the  same  time  General  "  Stonewall "  Jackson,  with  20,000 
Confederate  troops,  had  successfully  defied  the  Union  forces  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  In  May  he  captured  a  Union  force  at  Front 
Royal,  and  chased  General  Banks  out  of  the  Valley.     Banks  only 

*  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chapter  i. 
fNicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  V,  Chapter  23. 
J  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chapter  4. 
\  Ibid,  Chapter  5. 


ROBERT    E.    LEE. 


808  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

saved  his  command  by  a  hasty  retreat  across  the  Potomac.  Gen- 
erals Shields  and  Fremont  were  sent  against  Jackson,  who  fell  back 
before  them  and  then  defeated  them  separately  at  Cross  Keys  and 
Port  Republic,  June  8  and  9,  1862.  He  then  moved  to  Richmond 
to  join  Lee. 

At  the  beginning  of  August  Lee  marched  northward  toward 
Washington.  On  the  9th  he  met  and  defeated  General  Banks  at 
Cedar  Mountain.  An  army  of  40,000  men  under  General  Pope  still 
lay  between  Lee  and  the  Potomac,  but  fell  back  before  the  Con- 
federates' advance.  On  August  26,  Lee  attacked  the  Federal  force 
at  Manassas  Junction,  and  captured  a  great  quantity  of  stores. 
The  rest  of  the  month  was  spent  in  severe  but  indecisive  fighting 
at  Centreville,  Gainesville,  and  Chantilly,  nearly  opposite  Wash- 
ington. After  losing  30,000  men  in  the  campaign,  Pope  retreated 
across  the  Potomac. 

The  President  had  ordered  a  fresh  levy  of  300,000  troops  (July 
1,  1862)  and  the  Federal  forces  at  Washington  were  reorganized 
and  greatly  strengthened,  McClellan  succeeding  Pope  in  the  com- 
mand. The  time  "for  training  and  drilling  was  brief;  for  within 
a  few  days  the  news  came  that  Lee  had  crossed  the  Potomac  into 
Maryland."  *  The  Confederate  commander  detached  Jackson  to 
attack  Harper's  Ferry,  which  was  held  by  Colonel  Miles  with  13,000 
men.  Miles  surrendered  to  Jackson,  after  a  weak  resistance,  Sep- 
tember 15.  On  the  previous  day  McClellan  had  marched  between 
the  armies  of  Lee  and  Jackson  and  defeated  the  former  at  South 
Mountain. 

Lee,  whose  situation  was  perilous,  retreated  towards  the  Poto- 
mac, halting  near  Sharpsburgh,  Maryland,  to  await  Jackson,  who 
was  hurrying  back  from  Harper's  Ferry.  The  Confederate  forces 
had  had  time  to  reunite  when  McClellan  attacked  them  at  Antietam 
Creek.  The  battle,  one  of  the  bloodiest  of  the  war,  was  indecisive, 
but  on  the  next  day  Lee  withdrew  across  the  Potomac. 

McClellan  did  not  pursue  him,  and  after  six  weeks  of  in- 
activity President  Lincoln  removed  him  from  command,  replacing 
him  with  General  Burnside.  Burnside  moved  forward,  crossed 
the  Rappahannock,  and  attacked  Lee  at  Fredericksburg,  where  he 
was  repulsed  with  great  slaughter. 

In    September,    1862,    President   Lincoln  had  warned  the  se- 

Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VI,  Chapter  7. 


<8og) 


8lO  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

ceded  States  that  unless  the}'  returned  to  their  allegiance  he 
■would  issue  a  proclamation  declaring  all  slaves  within  their  borders 
free.  The  proclamation  was  indeed  "  published  in  full  by  the 
leading  newspapers  of  the  country  on  the  morning  of  September 
23d."*     On  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  it  was  formally  issued. 

After  his  defeat  at  Fredericksburg,  General  Burnside  was 
succeeded  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  by  General 
Joseph  Hooker.  In  April,  1863,  the  Federal  forces  made  another 
attempt  to  reach  Richmond,  and  again  they  met  with  disaster. 
After  crossing  the  Rappahannock  they  were  attacked  by  the  Con- 
federates at  Chancellorsville,  on  the  2d  and  3d  of  May,  and  de- 
feated. "The  losses  were  large  on  both  sides,"  f  Hooker's  being 
17,000  men  killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  The  Confederates  lost 
12,000,  among  whom  was  General  Jackson,  mortally  wounded 
through  mistake  by  his  own  men. 

Hooker  retreated  across  the  Rappahannock,  while  Lee  moved 
forward  and  threatened  Washington.  Hooker  marched  rapidly  to 
the  defense  of  the  capital,  and  the  Confederates,  instead  of  attack- 
ing it,  advanced  northward  across  Maryland  into  Pennsylvania. 

The  invasion  of  Pennsvlvania  caused  gfreat  alarm  in  the 
North,  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  strengthen  the  forces  around 
Washington.  Hooker  was  superseded  by  General  George  G. 
Meade,  an  officer  who  "  had  served  with  distinction  on  almost 
every  battle-field  of  the  Arm}-  of  the  Potomac."  J  Meade  took  up 
a  starong  position  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  with  eighty  thou- 
sand men,  and  on  the  1st  of  Jul}7  Lee  attacked  him  with  about 
the  same  number.  The  battle,  the  most  decisive  in  the  war,  was 
fiercely  fought  for  three  days,  and  ended  in  the  Confederates'  de- 
feat, with  the  loss  of  nearly  half  their  army.  On  the  4th  of  July 
Lee  withdrew  his  crippled  force  across  the  Potomac,  and  retreated 
beyond  the  Rapidan. 

After  his  repulse  from  Chickasaw  Bayou,  in  front  of  Vicks- 
burg  (December  29,  1862),  Sherman,  who  thought  that  "  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  and  Arkansas  were  the  key  to  the  whole  interior,"  § 
speedily  resumed  the  offensive.  On  January  10,  1863,  he  captured 
Arkansas  Post,  on  the  Arkansas  River.     A  few  days  later  "Admiral 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  8. 

f  Ibid.,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  8.         %  Ibid.,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  4. 

\  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  12. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  Si  I 

Porter  was  equally  busy  on  the  Yazoo  River,"  *  and  Grant,  who 
had  now  reached  the  scene  of  action,  made  several  successive  at- 
tempts upon  the  defenses  of  Vicksburg  from  the  same  side.  But 
the  Mississippi  and  its  branches  were  "very  high  and  rising," f 
and  for  three  months  Grant  could  not  get  near  enough  to  strike. 
He  then  moved  his  army  to  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  and 
went  down  it  to  New  Carthage,  below  Vicksburg,  running  his  gun- 
boats and  transports  past  the  Confederate  batteries.  Meanwhile  he 
had  despatched  Grierson,  with  1,700  cavalry,  on  a  raid  through  Mis- 
sissippi, to  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  which  was  successfully  executed, 
and  caused  great  damage  to  the  communications  of  the  Confederates. 

On  the  29th  of  April  Grant  attacked  Grand  Gulf,  on  the 
Mississippi,  but  was  repulsed.  The  next  day,  however,  he  crossed 
at  Bruinsburg,  lower  down,  and  defeated  the  Confederate  com- 
mander, Pemberton,  at  Port  Gibson.  General  Joseph  B.  Johnston 
was  advancing  toward  Vicksburg  with  a  second  force,  and  Grant 
"prepared  with  his  usual  energy  to  prevent  the  two  Confederate 
generals  from  effecting  their  junction."  £  He  met  and  defeated 
Johnston  at  Jackson  (Ma)-  14),  pushed  in  between  him  and  Pem- 
berton, and  drove  the  latter  into  Vicksburg. 

Twice  Grant  attempted  to  carry  the  works  of  Vicksburg  by 
assault.  He  was  twice  repulsed,  and  settled  down  to  a  siege  of 
the  place.  His  position  was  so  strong  that  Johnston  made  no 
attempt  at  relief,  and  "on  the  3d  of  July,  about  10  o'clock  A.  M., 
white  flags  appeared  on  a  portion  of  the  works."  §  On  the  4th, 
the  surrender  of  Pemberton  and  his  army,  which  numbered  about 
30,000,  was  completed. 

Four  days  later  Port  Hudson  surrendered  to  the  Federal  troops 
under  General  Banks.  "The  Mississippi  River  was  now  wholly  in 
the  possession  of  the  Union  forces,"  ||  an  achievement  that  aroused 
"  new  hopes  for  the  final  success  of  the  Union  cause."  %  Johnston's 
army  at  once  "  fell  back  to  Jackson."  **  A  few  days  later  the  "  evac- 
uation of  Jackson  was  decided  on,  and  was  accomplished  before  day- 
break "ff  of  July  17,  but  Grant  did  not  pursue. 

♦Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  11.  f  Ibid.,  Chap.  12. 

\  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  5. 

I  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  38.         ||  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  13. 

\  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  39. 

**  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chap.  7.     ff  Ibid.,  Chap.  8. 


GENERAL    ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


(8.^ 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  813 

After  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  at  the  beginning  of  January, 
1863,  Rosecrans'  Army  of  the  Cumberland  lay  inactive  until  June, 
facing  that  of  Bragg.  Rosecrans  then  advanced  through  Tennessee 
and  occupied  Chattanooga,  Bragg  falling  back  before  him.  On  Sep- 
tember 9  Rosecrans  telegraphed  to  Washington  that  he  expected 
no  resistance  from  Bragg,  but  "it  took  but  one  day's  marching  to 
disconcert  these  confident  expectations."  *  Bragg  had  been  rein- 
forced, and  was  prepared  to  resist  Rosecrans'  advance.  On  Sep- 
tember 19,  when  the  Union  army  had  just  entered  Georgia,  Bragg 
attacked  it  at  Chickamauga  Creek.  It  was  defeated  after  a  two 
days'  battle,  and  would  have  been  routed  had  it  not  been  for  the 
gallant  stand  made  by  General  George  H.  Thomas.  Bragg's  report 
of  the  fight  declared  that  he  "had  driven  the  enemy  from  the  State 
of  Georgia,  and  was  still  pursuing  him."f  General  Sheridan  states 
that  it  "left  in  the  Cofederates'  possession  not  much  more  than  the 
barren  results  arising  from  the  simple  holding  of  the  ground  on 
which  the  engagement  was  fought."  J 

Rosecrans,  who  had  lost  16,000  men,  fell  back  to  Chattanooga. 
Bragg  occupied  the  heights  above  the  town,  and  Rosecrans'  situa- 
tion became  perilous.  In  this  emergency  "  the  Secretary  of  War 
directed  General  Grant  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  front "  §  and 
take  command  of  the  army  at  Chattanooga.  Arriving  in  Novem- 
ber, and  being  reinforced  by  Sherman  and  Hooker,  Grant  prepared 
to  attack  the  Confederates,  who  "  were  looking  upon  the  garrison 
of  Chattanooga  as  prisoners  of  war."  ||  On  the  24th  Lookout 
Mountain  was  stormed  by  Hooker's  division,  and  the  following  day 
Grant  assaulted  Missionary  Ridge,  and  carried  it,  driving  Bragg 
back  into  Georgia.  In  these  battles  Grant  had  "in  round  numbers 
about  60,000  men.  Bragg  had  about  half  this  number,  but  his  posi- 
tion was  supposed  to  be  impregnable."^ 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  the  Confederate  General  Magru- 
der  captured  the  port  of  Galveston,  Texas,  together  with  a  United 
States  steamer  and  a  great  quantity  of  stores.  Elsewhere  in  the 
Southwest  the  Federal  forces  were  successful.     The  Confederates 

*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VIII,  Chap.  4. 

f  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chap.  8. 

X  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  15. 

§  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VIII,  Chap.  4. 

||  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  41.         If  Ibid.,  Chap.  45. 


814  HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

were  driven  from  Helena  and  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  by  Generals 
Prentiss  and  Steele,  and  forced  to  retreat  beyond  the  Red  River. 
Throughout  the  summer  there  was  guerilla  warfare  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  Quantrell,  who  was  little  more  than  a  bandit,  raided 
the  town  of  Lawrence,  Kansas,  and  murdered  140  of  its  citizens. 

Another  raid  was  that  of  General  Morgan,  who  with  3000  Con- 
federate cavalry  passed  through  Kentucky  in  June,  and  invaded  Indi- 
ana and  Ohio.  His  retreat  was  cut  off  by  a  Union  force  and  b}T  the 
gunboats  on  the  Ohio,  and  on  the  27th  of  July  he  was  captured  at 
New  Lisbon,  Ohio. 

Charleston  was  attacked  by  two  Federal  expeditions  in  1863. 
The  first,  under  Admiral  Dupont,  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss  on 
the  7th  of  April.  The  second,  under  General  Gillmore,  effected  a 
landing  on  Morris  Island,  demolished  Fort  Sumter,  and  captured 
Fort  Wagner,  thus  closing  the  harbor  (September  6). 

In  June,  1S63,  Congress  passed  an  act  admitting  West  Vir- 
ginia, whose  citizens  had  opposed  secession,  into  the  Union  as  a 
separate  State. 

The  great  armies  called  for  by  the  Federal  government  were, 
throughout  the  war,  readily  furnished  by  the  North,  except  in 
one  instance.  In  July,  1S63,  during  Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  drafting  of  troops  in  New  York  was  resisted  by  rioters, 
who  killed  several  negroes  and  destroyed  much  property.  Gover- 
nor Seymour,  of  New  York,  though  he  was  himself  "  convinced 
of  the  illegality  and  impolicy  of  the  draft,"  *  took  measures  to 
suppress  the  riot,  which  ended  after  considerable  loss  of  life. 

The  last  fighting  of  the  year  1863  took  place  around  Knox- 
ville,  Tennessee,  where  in  November  a  Federal  force,  under  General 
Burnside,  was  closely  beleaguered  by  General  Longstreet.  On 
November  29th  Longstreet  made  a  fierce  attack  on  the  defenses  of 
the  city,  but  was  repulsed.  Four  days  later,  hearing  that  Grant 
had  detached  Sherman  to  relieve  Burnside,  he  raised  the  siege  and 
withdrew  into  Virginia. 

"The  winter  of  1863-64  was  unusually  cold,"  f  and  military 
operations,  except  in  the  extreme  South,  were  suspended.  In 
February  Sherman,  who  was  stationed  at  Vicksburg,  planned  an 
expedition  through  northern  Mississippi,  in  order  "  to  prevent 
further  molestation  of  boats  navigating  the  Mississippi,  and  there- 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  2.        f  Ibid.,  Vol.  VIII,  Chap.  13. 


816  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

by  to  widen  the  gap  in  the  Confederacy."  *  In  spite  of  a  defeat 
inflicted  upon  a  part  of  his  forces  at  Meridian  by  General  Forrest 
he  returned  to  Vicksburg,  after  doing  great  damage  to  the  Con- 
federate communications.  Forrest  pushed  on  into  Tennessee,  cap- 
tured Union  City  (March  24),  fruitlessly  assaulted  Paducah,  and 
on  the  1 2th  of  April  took  Fort  Pillow,  near  Memphis.  Some 
negroes  among  its  garrison  were  shot  after  the  surrender. 

In  March  another  expedition  from  Vicksburg  moved  up  the 
Red  River,  in  Louisiana,  with  10,000  troops  under  General  Smith, 
and  a  gunboat  squadron  under  Admiral  Porter.  After  the  capture 
of  Natchitoches  (March  21),  General  Banks  joined  the  expedition 
with  a  force  from  New  Orleans,  and  took  command.  Advancing 
toward  Shreveport,  he  was  attacked  and  severely  defeated  at 
Sabine  Cross  Roads  (April  8),  and  fell  back  to  Alexandria.  The 
gunboats  were  caught  above  the  rapids  at  Alexandria  by  the  fall 
of  the  river,  and  must  have  been  abandoned  had  not  Colonel 
Bailey,  a  Wisconsin  lumberman,  constructed  a  great  dam,  that  so 
deepened  the  water  as  to  allow  the  fleet  to  pass.  Meanwhile  Gen- 
eral Steele  had  moved  from  Arkansas  to  join  Banks,  at  Shreve- 
port Hearing  of  the  latter's  defeat,  he  fell  back,  severely  pressed 
by  the  Confederates.  The  Red  River  expedition  had  ended  in 
failure,  and  General  Banks  was  superseded  by  General  Canby. 

At  the  beginning  of  March,  Grant  was  summoned  to  Wash- 
ington from  the  West,  to  take  command  of  all  the  Federal  forces. 
Sherman  "accompanied  him  as  far  as  Cincinnati  on  his  way"f  to 
the  capital,  to  arrange  plans  for  concerted  action.  Grant's  inten- 
tion was  "  to  employ  the  full  strength  of  the  army  in  a  simulta- 
neous movement  all  along  the  line."  J  He  himself  designed  to 
advance  on  Richmond  with  the  Arm}'  of  the  Potomac,  while  Sher- 
man struck  at  Atlanta  with  a  force  composed  of  the  three  Western 
armies — those  of  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland,  and  the  Tennessee. 
The  main  forces  of  the  Confederacy  were  grouped  before  Rich- 
mond, under  Lee,  and  in  northern  Georgia,  under  Johnston. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1864,  Sherman  moved  out  of  Chattanooga 
with  100,000  men.  Johnston  confronted  him  with  70,000  men) 
and  a  series  of  battles  followed,  Sherman  gradual^  pushing  for- 
ward.     After  two  days  of  desperate    fighting  at   Resaca,  Ma)'  14 

♦Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chapter  14.         -j- Ibid.,  Chapter  15. 
X  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.VIII,  Chapter  14. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.  817 

and  15,  Johnston  fell  back  to  Dallas,  where  Sherman  defeated  him 
and  turned  Allatoona  Pass  (May  25  to  28).  At  the  end  of  May 
Sherman  "had  advanced  over  nearly  a  hundred  miles  of  as  diffi- 
cult country  as  was  ever  fought  over  by  civilized  armies."  *  The 
wooded  hills  of  Georgia  were  so  defensible  that  Sherman  reported 
that  "the  whole  country  was  one  vast  fort."f  There  was  heavy 
fighting  at  Lost  Mountain  on  June  15,  16,  and  17,  and  again  on 
the  2 2d  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  where  Johnston  had  taken  up  a 
strong  position.  On  the  morning  of  June  27  Sherman  ordered 
an  attack.  "  By  half-past  eleven  the  assault  was  over  and  had 
failed,"  £  the  Federal  troops  having  been  repelled  by  Johnston's 
"  intrenched  infantry,  unsurpassed  by  that  of  Napoleon's  Old 
Guard."  §  Sherman  still  pressed  forward,  however,  and  on  the 
10th  of  July  he  forced  Johnston  to  retire  within  the  fortifications 
of  Atlanta. 

The  Richmond  government,  dissatisfied  with  Johnston's  fail- 
ure to  arrest  Sherman's  advance,  now  removed  him  from  his  com- 
mand, substituting  General  Hood.  For  some  time  the  siege  of 
Atlanta  made  "slow  and  steady  progress,"  |j  Sherman  being  "held 
in  check  by  the.  stubborn  defense  "  ^[  of  the  garrison.  Near  the 
end  of  July  Hood  three  times  attacked  the  Federal  lines,  but  was 
three  times  driven  back,  and  in  the  last  of  these  battles  (July  28) 
his  forces  were  divided  and  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  city, 
retreating  northward.  On  the  2nd  of  September  Sherman  entered 
Atlanta,  where  he  rested  to  prepare  for  his  intended  march  through 
Georgia  to  Savannah. 

"While  Sherman  was  planning  his  march  to  the  sea,  General 
Hood  was  devising  a  counter-scheme  of  invasion."  **  He  moved 
into  Tennessee,  where  he  was  confronted  by  a  Union  force  under 
General  Thomas.  On  the  30th  of  November  he  defeated  a  part  of 
Thomas'  army,  under  General  Schofield,  at  Franklin.  Thomas 
withdrew  to  Nashville,  and  the  Confederates  were  preparing  to 
assault  the  city  when  he  suddenly  moved  against  Hood,  defeated 
him  and  almost  destroyed  his  army  (December  15  and  16,  1864). 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  25. 

flbid.,  Chap.  16.  t  Ibid.,  Chap.  16. 

{!  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chapter  II. 

y  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  iS.  If  Ibid.,  Chap.   18. 

*<*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  10,  Chap.  1. 


Si8 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


On  the  1 2th  of  November  Sherman's  railroad  and  telegraph 
communications  with  the  rear  were  broken,  and  the  army  stood 
dependent  on  its  own  resources  and  supplies."  *  With  60,000  men 
he  marched  through  Georgia,  meeting  little  resistance,  and  reaching 
Savannah  a  month  after  leaving  Atlanta.  On  the  13th  of  Decem- 
ber he  stormed  Fort  Mc- 
Allister, and  on  the  21st 
entered  the  city,  which 
had  been  evacuated  by  the 
Confederates.  Here  he 
remained  for  a  month. 

Meanwhile  Grant  had 
"started  upon  the  cam- 
paign destined  to  result 
in  the  capture  of  the 
Confederate  capital  and 
the  army  defending  it."f 
Crossing  the  Rapidan, 
"  on  the  4th  of  May  the 
army  of  the  Potomac 
moved  against  Lee,"  J 
who,  on  the  5th,  attacked 
Graat  in  a  tract  called 
the  Wilderness.  "More 
desperate  fighting  has 
not  been  witnessed  on 
this  Continent  "  §  than 
the  three  days'  battle  that 
ensued.  The  slaughter 
in  both  armies  was  great. 
On  the  Confederate  side 
General  Longstreet  was 
wounded,  and  "his  loss 
was  a  severe  one  to  Lee." 
From  the  Wilderness  Lee  fell  back  to  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,   where    the    fighting  was    renewed,  Grant   telegraphing  to 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  20.         f  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  50. 

I  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  18. 

fi  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.   50.         ||  Ibid.,  Chap.   50. 


GENERmL   W.    T.    SHERMAN. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.  819 

Washington  that  he  "proposed  to  fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it 
took  all  summer."  At  the  same  time  Sheridan  was  despatched 
"to  proceed  against  the  enemy's  cavalry,"*  and  to  break  Lee's 
railroad  communications.  Grant  then  moved  to  the  left,  to  out- 
flank Lee,  and  on  the  1st  of  June  attacked  the  Confederate  army 
at  Cold  Harbor.  He  was  driven  back  from  their  intrenchments, 
and  by  a  second  assault,  made  two  days  later,  "  no  advantage  what- 
ever was  gained  to  compensate  for  the  heavy  loss."  f  He  had, 
however,  no  difficulty  in  securing  reinforcements,  while  the  Con- 
federates, whose  resources  were  rapidly  becoming  exhausted,  could 
no  longer  strengthen  their  forces.  Crossing  the  James  River,  on 
the  18th  of  June  he  attacked  Petersburg,  but  after  four  days'  fight- 
ing was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  He  then  intrenched  himself 
before  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  where  he  remained  during  the 
rest  of  the  year  1864. 

Sheridan's  raid  on  the  railroads  in  the  rear  of  Richmond  was 
effectively  carried  out.  Two  other  subsidiary  movements  of  the 
Federal  forces  were  less  successful.  General  Butler,  advancing  to- 
ward Richmond  from  Fortress  Monroe,  was  defeated  at  Bermuda 
Hundred  (May  7),  and  an  expedition  sent  to  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, under  Generals  Sigel  and  Hunter,  after  a  defeat  at  Newmarket 
(May  15)  and  a  victory  at  Piedmont  (June  5),  was  forced  to  retreat 
into  West  Virginia.  This  left  Washington  unprotected,  and  Lee 
despatched  20,000  men  under  General  Jubal  Early  to  strike  at  the 
national  capital. 

Crossing  the  Potomac  into  Maryland,  Early  defeated  General 
Wallace  at  Monocacy  (July  9)  and  advanced  within  gunshot  of 
Washington.  If  he  "had  been  but  one  day  earlier  he  might  have 
entered  the  capital  before  the  arrival  of  reinforcements."  $  Find- 
ing Washington  well  defended,  he  retired  into  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  pursued  by  General  Wright.  At  Winchester  Early  turned 
on  Wright,  defeated  him,  and  advanced  through  Maryland  into 
Pennsylvania.  After  burning  the  town  of  Chambersburg  (July 
30)  he  retreated  into  Virginia. 

In  September  Grant  ordered  Sheridan  to  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley, to  drive  off  Early  and  "to  destroy  all  the  forage  and  subsist- 
ence the  country  afforded,"  §  so  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 

♦Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I.  Chap.  18.     t Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  55.     t Ibid-.  chaP-  57- 
g  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  24. 

46 


820 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


Confederate  raids  from  that  quarter.  On  the  19th  of  September 
Sheridan  routed  the  Confederates  in  "  the  battle  of  the  Opequon, 
or  Winchester,  as  it  has  been  unofficially  called,"*  and  "sent 
Early's  army  whirling  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley."  f  On  the  19th 
of  October,  Sheridan,  having  been  temporarily  called  to  Washing- 
ton, Early  attacked  the  Federal  Forces  at  Cedar  Creek,  and  drove 
them  back.  Sheridan,  hurrying  back  to  his  post,  was  met  by  "the 
appalling  spectacle  of  a  panic-stricken  army."  J  He  rallied  his 
men,  led  them  forward,  and  turned  defeat  into  a  complete  victory, 
Early's  troops  being  routed  and  scattered. 

One  of  the  lesser  military  movements  of  1864 

was  General  Seymour's  expedition  to  the  coast  of 

Florida,  which  ended  disastrously  at  the  battle  of 

Olustee  (February    20),  where    the    Federal   force 

was  defeated. 

In  July,  Mobile,  one  of  the  most 
strongly  fortified  places  of  the  Confeder- 
acy, was  attacked  by  a  fleet  under  Ad- 
miral Farragut  and  a  land  force  com- 
manded by  General  Granger.  On  the 
5th  of  August,  Farragut  ran  into  Mobile 
Bay,  passing  Forts  Morgan  and  Gaines 
at  its  entrance,  and  capturing  the  Con- 
federate ram  Tennessee.  The  forts  soon 
afterward  surrendered  to  General  Gran- 
ger. 

One  of  the  few  Confederate  ports 
that  still  remained  open  was  that  of  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina,  which  was  defended  by  Fort  Fisher.  In 
December,  1864,  an  expedition  under  Admiral  Porter  and  General 
Butler  was  despatched  to  reduce  the  fort,  but  after  bombarding  it 
they  found  it  too  strong  to  be  carried  by  assault,  and  withdrew. 

In  April,  1864,  the  Confederates  had  captured  Plymouth,  North 
Carolina,  with  the  formidable  iron  ram  Albemarle.  On  the  night 
of  October  27  the  Albemarle  was  sunk  by  a  torpedo  attached  to  it 
by  Lieutenant  Cushing,  who  crept  up  in  a  small  steamer  manned 

*  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  i. 
f  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  Chap.   I. 
X  Ibid.,  Vol.   II,  Chap.  3. 


ADMIRAL    FARRAGUT. 


SHERIDAN'S    FAMOUS  RIDE   FROM    WINCHESTER    TO    CEDAR    CREEK,   OCTOBER  19,  1864,   WHERE    HE 
RALLIED    HIS  PANIC-STRICKEN  TROOPS  AND  TURNED  DEFEAT  INTO  COMPLETE  VICTORY. 

"And  there,  through  the  flush  of  the  morning  light, 
A  steed  as  black  as  the  steeds  of  night 
Was  seen  to  pass,  as  with  eagle  flight, 
As  if  he  knew  the  terrible  need; 
He  stretched  away  with  his  utmost  speed" — 

—  Thomas  Buchanan  Read. 


(82:) 


822  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

by  a  volunteer  crew,  only  two  members  of  which  escaped.  Ply- 
mouth surrendered  four  days  later. 

In  1864  the  depredations  of  Confederate  privateers  were  brought 
to  a  close,  after  the  infliction  of  great  damage  upon  American  ocean 
commerce  during  the  four  years  of  the  war.  In  May,  1861,  the  Sum- 
ter, commanded  by  Captain  Seinmes,  sailed  from  New  Orleans,  and 
captured  and  burned  a  number  of  merchantmen  before  being  block- 
aded at  Cadiz  by  the  United  States  ship  Tuscarora.  Semmes  then 
discharged  his  crew  and  sold  his  vessel.  The  Nashville  left  Charles- 
ton in  October,  1861,  and  returned,  running  the  blockade,  with  a 
valuable  cargo  of  stores  from  England.  She  was  destroyed  in  the 
Savannah  River  by  the  Federal  ironclads,  in  March,  1863. 

Several  of  the  Confederate  cruisers  were  built  in  British  ports. 
Such  was  the  Florida,  which  sailed  into  Mobile  Bay  under  British 
colors  in  August,  1862.  In  January,  1S63,  she  ran  through  the  block- 
ade, and  cruised  in  the  Atlantic  for  three  months,  taking  fifteen 
American  ships.  She  was  then  captured  in  the  harbor  of  Bahia, 
Brazil.  The  Georgia,  built  at  Glasgow,  was  also  captured  in  1863. 
Most  notorious  and  destructive  of  all  was  the  Alabama,  which  sailed 
from  Liverpool  in  1862.  Her  builders  had  "made  no  special  effort 
to  dissemble  her  object  and  purpose,"*  and  the  American  minister 
in  England  had  protested  against  her  being  allowed  to  put  to  sea. 
She  cruised  for  two  years,  capturing  sixty-five  merchant  ships,  and 
destroying  property  valued  at  ten  millions  of  dollars.  Her  captain 
was  Semmes,  who  had  commanded  the  Sumter.  She  never  entered 
a  Confederate  port,  and  was  finally  blockaded  by  the  Kearsarge  in 
the  harbor  of  Cherbourg,  France.  Being  ordered  by  the  French 
government  to  leave  Cherbourg,  the  Kearsarge  attacked  and  sank 
her  (June  19,  1864). 

In  the  summer  of  1S64  nominations  were  made  for  the  Presi- 
dential election.  During  the  first  two  years  of  the  war  the  serious 
disasters  suffered  by  the  Union  cause  had  created  much  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  policy  of  the  President;  but  the  later  successes  of  the 
Federal  armies  had  made  it  clear  that  "nothing  could  prevent  Lin- 
coln's renomination."  f  The  Republican  convention  coupled  to  his 
name  that  of  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  as  their  candidate  for 
Vice-President.      The    Democrats    nominated   General   George   B. 

*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VI,  Chap.  3. 
f  Ibid.,  Vol.  IX,  Chap.  2. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED    STATES.  823 

McClellan,  of  New  Jersey,  and  George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio.  At 
the  polls  Lincoln  and  Johnson  received  a  large  majority. 

In  October,  1864,  Nevada,  the  thirty-sixth  State,  was  admitted 
to  the  Union. 

The  year  1865  opened  with  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher  by  a 
second  expedition,  commanded  by  Admiral  Porter  and  General 
Terry.  The  fort  was  bombarded  and  taken  by  storm  on  the  15th 
of  January,  and  on  the  22nd  of  February  the  Union  forces  occupied 
Wilmington — a  port  that  had  been  "of  immense  importance  to  the 
Confederates,  because  it  formed  their  principal  inlet  for  blockade 
runners."  * 

By  this  time  "  the  Southern  cause  appeared  hopeless  to  all 
intelligent  and  dispassionate  Southern  men."f  The  situation  of 
Lee's  army  at  Petersburg  and  Richmond  was  growing  desperate 
under  the  pressure  of  Grant's  superior  strength.  To  oppose  Sher- 
man's northward  march  from  Savannah  there  were  only  "scattered 
and  inconsiderable  forces."  $  The  Carolinas  and  Virginia  were  the 
only  States  that  still  remained  to  the  Confederacy. 

It  was  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  "that  the. first  gleams  of  the 
final  victory  shone  upon  the  Union  arms."  §  Sheridan  was  again 
ordered  there  by  Grant  in  February,  1865,  to  strike  at  Lee's  com- 
munications. At  Waynesboro  he  met  a  Confederate  force  under 
Early,  which  he  attacked  and  routed — a  defeat  that  "  finished  Early 
as  a  military  leader."  ||  After  a  successful  raid  Sheridan  rejoined 
Grant  before  Petersburg  in  March. 

Sherman  moved  from  Savannah  at  the  end  of  January,  and 
marched  through  South  Carolina  to  Columbia,  the  State  capital, 
which  he  entered  on  the  17th  of  February.  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  was  ordered  by  the  Confederate  government  to  collect 
the  forces  scattered  through  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  to 
endeavor  to  arrest  Sherman's  progress.  This,  however,  he  was 
unable  to  do.  The  Federal  army  entered  Goldsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, on  the  21st  of  March,  after  a  severe  engagement.  Generals 
Schofield  and  Terry  were  bringing  up  reinforcements   from   the 

*  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  61. 

f  Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chap.  12. 

J  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  22. 

gNicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  IX,  Chap.  7. 

||  Lossing's  Cyclopaedia  of  U.  S.  History  (Sheridan's  Raid). 


824  HISTORY   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

coast,  and  their  forces  and  those  of  Sherman  "effected  a  junction 
in  and  about  Goldsboro  during  the  22nd  and  23rd  of  March."  * 
Johnston  had  withdrawn  his  troops  to  Raleigh. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  Lee  attacked  Grant's  lines  at  Fort 
Steadman,  but  was  repulsed,  and  a  week  later  his  position  at  Five 
Forks  was  assaulted  and  carried  by  Sheridan.  Grant  followed  up 
this  success  by  an  attack  all  along  Lee's  front,  and  the  Confederate 
defenses  were  pierced  at  several  points.  Lee's  situation  was  now 
hopeless,  and  he  evacuated  Petersburg  and  Richmond,  which  were 
at  once  occupied  by  the  Federal  army  (April  3,  1865). 

Lee's  retreating  forces  were  closely  pursued  by  Grant  and 
Sheridan.  "Let  the  thing  be  pressed," f  the  President  telegraphed 
to  Grant  on  the  6th  of  April,  and  on  the  same  day,  at  Sailor's 
Creek,  Sheridan  gained  "a  victory  which  led  to  the  annihilation 
of  one  corps  of  Lee's  army."  J  The  end  of  the  war  was  evidently 
at  hand,  although  it  was  generally  expected  that  either  Sherman  or 
Grant  "would  have  to  fight  one  more  bloody  battle." §  In  order 
"to  shift  from  himself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  effusion  of 
blood,"  ||  Grant  sent  a  message  to  Lee,  pointing  out  "the  hopeless- 
ness of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia,"^ and  suggesting  a  surrender.  Lee,  in  reply,  inquired  what 
terms  Grant  would  offer,  and  several  notes  passed  between  the  com- 
manders. Meanwhile  Sheridan  had  moved  around  Lee's  army,  and 
on  the  morning  of  April  9  attacked  it  from  the  rear,  near  Appomat- 
tox Court  House.  A  white  flag  was  displayed  by  the  Confederate 
general,  who  requested  a  suspension  of  hostilities  that  he  might 
have  an  interview  with  Grant.  At  that  interview,  which  took  place 
in  the  house  of  a  Mr.  McLean,  it  was  arranged  that  Lee's  soldiers 
"  should  lay  down  their  arms,  not  to  take  them  up  again  unless  ex- 
changed,"** and  that  they  should  "  be  allowed  to  return  to  their 
homes."  ff  Grant  then  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  at 
Washington,  "  General  Lee  surrendered  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  this  afternoon  on  terms  proposed  by  myself." Xt 

The  surrender  of  Lee's  army  practically  closed  the  war.   John- 

*  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  23. 

f  Sheridan's  Memoirs,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  8.         Jlbid.,  Vo1-  u-  chaP-  7- 

\  Sherman's  Memoirs,  Chap.  23. 

||  Grant's  Memoirs,  Chap.  66.         ^f  Ibid.,  Chap.  66. 

**  Ibid.,  Chap.  67.         ft  Ibid.,  Chap.  67.         %\  Ibid.,  Chap.  67. 


■  3 


o 
< 

t- 
I- 
< 


(8^5) 


826 


HISTORY   OF  THE    UNITED   STATES. 


ston  had  just  evacuated  Raleigh,  and  was  retreating  before  Sherman, 
when  he  heard  the  news  of  Appomattox.  He  thereupon  sent  a 
message  to  Sherman  proposing  "to  make  a  suspension  of  active 
operations."  *  Before  the  negotiations  were  concluded  the  country 
was  shocked  by  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln. 

The  14th  of  April  "was  a  day  of  deep  and  tranquil  happiness 
throughout  the  United  States."  f  The  President,  relieved  of  the 
terrible  burden  of  the  war,  that  evening  attended  Ford's  theater  in 
Washington.  While  there  he  was  shot  by  Wilkes  Booth,  an  actor, 
and  "at  twenty-two  minutes  after  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  April  15  "%  he  expired.  On  the  same  morning  Mr.  Seward  was 
wounded  by  another  assassin  who  broke  into  his 
house.  A  few  days  later  Booth  was  shot  in  a  barn 
in  Maryland  where  he  had  been  hiding. 

Johnston's  surrender  was  signed  on  the  26th 
of  April,  and  no  Confederate  army  remained  in 
the  field  except  inconsiderable  forces  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  Jefferson  Davis,  endeavoring  to 
escape  in  that  direction,  was  captured  at  Irwins- 
ville,  Georgia,  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  sent  as  a 
prisoner  to  Fortress  Monroe.  On  the  26th  of 
May  the  last  of  the  Confederate  forces  in  the 
southwest  surrendered,  and  the  civil  war  was 
over. 

Three  hours  after  the  death  of  Lincoln  "  the 
oath  of  office  as  President  of  the  United  States 
was  administered  to  Andrew  Johnson  by  Chief 
Justice  Chase."  §  Born  in  North  Carolina  of 
humble  parentage,  and  unable  to  read  and  write  until  after  his 
marriage,  Johnson  had  risen  to  be  United  States  Senator  from 
Tennessee  (1S60)  and  military  governor  of  the  State  (1862)  before 
his  election  to  the  Vice-Presidency  in  1864.  His  administration 
was  at  once  confronted  with  several  important  questions. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1865,  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister 
at  London,  presented  to  the  British  government  a  claim  for  repara- 

*Johnston's  Narrative  of  Military  Operations,  Chap.  12. 
fNicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  X,  Chap.  14. 
f  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  1. 
glbid.,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  1. 


ANDREW   JOHNSON 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES.  827 

tion  for  the  damages  done  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States 
by  the  Alabama  and  other  Confederate  cruisers  equipped  in  En- 
gland. The  diplomatic  dispute  that  ensued  was  not  settled  for 
some  years. 

On  the  1st  of  February  Congress  framed  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  declaring  that  slavery  should  not  exist  within  the 
United  States.  During  1865  this,  the  thirteenth  amendment  to 
the  Constitution,  was  ratified  by  all  the  States  then  in  the  Union. 

The  war  had  left  a  debt  of  almost  two  and  three-quarter 
billions  of  dollars.  To  meet  the  interest  heavy  import  duties  and 
internal  revenue  taxes  had  been  imposed.  The  country  proved  its 
ability  to  sustain  the  burden  without  difficulty,  and,  to  increase 
confidence,  Congress,  in  December,  1865,  formally  resolved  that 
u  the  public  debt  ought  and  must  be  paid,  principal  and  interest." 

On  the  question  of  reconstruction,  or  the  reorganization  of  the 
seceded  States,  serious  differences  arose  between  President  John- 
son and  Congress.  The  former  maintained,  in  opposition  to  the 
views  of  Congress,  that  no  State  could  of  its  own  act  leave  the 
Union,  and  that  therefore  the  Confederate  States  need  not  and 
could  not  be  readmitted. 

An  international  question  with  France  arose  out  of  that  coun- 
try's attempt,  during  the  civil  war,  to  establish  an  empire  in  Mex- 
ico under  the  Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria.  President  Lincoln 
had  protested  against  this  European  interference,  and  "  no  one 
will  question  the  wisdom  of  the  attitude  assumed  and  consistently 
maintained  "  *  by  him  and  Secretary  Seward.  It  was  impossible  to 
do  more  than  protest  while  the  country's  entire  energies  were  oc- 
cupied in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  On  its  conclusion  the  gov- 
ernment demanded  of  Napoleon  III.  that  his  troops,  which  had 
placed  Maximilian  on  the  throne,  should  be  withdrawn  from  Mex- 
ico. The  French  emperor  acceded  to  the  demand,  with  the  result 
that  Maximilian  was  dethroned  by  the  Mexican  republicans  and 
shot  (June  19,  1867). 

In  July,  1866,  repeated  attempts  to  lay  a  telegraph  cable  from 
Europe  to  America  reached  a  successful  conclusion.  The  enterprise 
was  undertaken  in  1857,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Cyrus  W. 
Field,  of  New  York,  who  persevered  with  his  project  in  spite  of 
four  failures,  which  cost  about  six  millions  of  dollars.     The  cable 

*Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  VII,  Chap.  14. 


828 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


THE   GREAT   EASTERN    LANDING    IN    TRINITY    BAY,    NEWFOUNDLAND,    WITH    THE    END   OF   THE    FIRST    OCEAN    CABLE. 


ran  from  Valencia,  in  Ireland,  to  Trinity  Bay,  Newfoundland,  a 
distance  of  1,700  miles. 

In  March,  1867,  Secretary  Seward  negotiated  a  treaty  with 
Russia,  whereby  the  latter  agreed  to  sell  Alaska  to  the  United 
States  for  the  sum  of  seven  million  dollars.  This  great  northern 
territory,  with  an  area  of  577,000  square  miles,  was  then  almost 
unknown  and  thought  to  be  of  very  little  value,  and  "it  required 
all  Seward's  skill  and  influence  to  accomplish  the  ratification  of  the 
Alaska  purchase."  *  The  Senate  accepted  it,  however,  on  the  9th 
of  April,  1S67. 

The  disagreement  between  President  Johnson  and  Congress 
was  becoming  more  and  more  marked.  He  vetoed  a  bill  establish- 
ing a  military  government  in  some  of  the  Southern  States,  a  bill 
admitting  Nebraska  to  the  Union,  and  the  Reconstruction  Bill, 
providing  for  the  reorganization  of  the  seceded  States.  All  of  these 
measures,  however,  were  passed  over  his  veto  by  a  two-thirds  vote, 
and  in  January,  1868,  the  House  of  Representatives  ordered  his 
impeachment.  On  being  tried  before  the  Senate,  the  President 
was  acquitted,  though  only  one  vote  was  lacking  of  the  two-thirds 
vote  necessary  for  his  conviction  (May  23,  1868). 

The  settlement  of  affairs  in  the  South  made  steady  progress. 

*  Nicolay  and  Hay's  Lincoln,  Vol.  I,  Chap.  13. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


829 


In  May,  1867,  Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  been  imprisoned  at  Fortress 
Monroe  for  two  years,  was  released  on  bail.  He  was  never  brought 
to  trial.  In  September  the  President  issued  a  proclamation  of 
"  amnesty  to  all  engaged  in  the  Rebellion,"  with  a  few  exceptions. 
In  June,  1868,  the  States  of  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Georgia,  Louisiana, 
and  North  and  South  Carolina  were  readmitted  to  the  Union. 

An  Indian  war,  that  had  lasted  for  four  years  in  Colorado  and 
the  Indian  Territory,  was  terminated  in  the  fall  of  186S  by  the 
battle  of  the  Wacbeta,  in  which  the  chief  Black  Kettle- was  de- 
feated and  killed  by  General  Custer's  cavalry. 

As  the  Presidential  election  of  1868  approached,  the  Republi- 
can party  placed  in  nomination  General  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  the  hero  of  the  civil  war,  with  Schuyler 
Colfax,  of  Indiana,  as  their  candidate  for  Vice- 
President.  The  Democrats  selected  Horatio 
Seymour,  who,  as  Governor  of  New  York  during 
the  war,  "had  been  a  great  favorite  of  the  peace 
party,"  *  and  Frank  P.  Blair,  of  Missouri.  At 
the  election  in  November  Grant  was  successful 
by  a  large  majority,  Seymour  carrying  New  York 
and  only  five  other  States. 

General  Grant,  who  thus  became  the  eigh- 
teenth President  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio,  in  1822.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  West  Point,  entered  the  army,  and 
served  with  credit  as  a  subordinate  officer  under 
General  Scott  in  Mexico.  After  the  Mexican 
war  he  retired  into  civil  life,  but  on  President 
Lincoln's  call  for  troops  he  at  once  volunteered  for  service. 

Two  months  after  Grant's  inauguration  the  first  transconti- 
nental railroad  was  completed.  This  great  enterprise,  which  had 
been  six  years  in  progress,  was  undertaken  partly  as  a  government 
work,  in  order  to  cement  the  distant  Pacific  coast  to  tfie  rest  of 
the  Union.  The  line  from  the  Missouri  to  San  Francisco,  nearly 
eighteen  hundred  miles  in  length,  was  built  by  two  companies,  the 
Union  Pacific  working  westward,  the  Central  Pacific  eastward. 
The  two  met  near  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  where  the  last  spike 
driven  on  the  10th  of  May,  1869. 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  16. 


PRESIDENT    ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


was 


830  HISTORY   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

To  insure  the  civil  status  of  the  emancipated  negroes,  the 
fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  framed  by  Congress 
in  February,  1869,  and  was  ratified  by  the  States  during  the  fol- 
lowing twelve  months.  It  provided  that  the  suffrage  should  not  be 
restricted  "on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of 
servitude." 

In  May,  1871,  was  signed  the  treaty  of  Washington,  whereby 
the  British  government  agreed  to  refer  the  claims  arising  from 
the  Alabama  affair  to  a  tribunal  of  arbitration,  whose  settlement 
should  be  accepted  as  final.  The  tribunal  was  to  consist  of  five 
members,  named  respectively  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  Queen  of  England,  the  President  of  Switzerland,  the 
King  of  Italy,  and  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  The  court  thus  con- 
stituted met  at  Geneva  in  December,  187 1,  and  after  sitting  for 
nine  months  it  decided  that  Great  Britain  should  pay  to  the 
United  States  $15,500,000  in  gold.  That  sum  was  thereupon  paid 
by  the  British  government. 

Another  international  question  with  England  was  settled  by 
arbitration  in  1872.  The  island  of  San  Juan,  lying  between  Van- 
couver's Island  and  the  mainland,  was  claimed  both  by  Great 
Britain  and  by  the  United  States.  On  being  referred  by  mutual 
agreement  to  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  dispute  was  decided 
in  favor  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  summer  of  1872  President  Grant  was  renominated  by 
the  Republicans,  with  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  Vice-Presidency.  A  small  section  of  the  party,  dis- 
satisfied with  Grant's  administration,  took  the  name  of  Liberal 
Republicans,  and  placed  in  nomination  Horace  Greeley,  the  cele- 
brated founder  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  and  Gratz  Brown,  of 
Missouri.  The  Democratic  convention  indorsed  the  Liberal  can- 
didates, but  at  the  election  in  November  Grant  and  Wilson  were 
successful  by  a  considerable  majority. 

Shortly  before  the  election  the  city  of  Chicago  was  swept  by 
a  terrible  conflagration,  which  destroyed  property  valued  al- 
$200,000,000,  and  left  100,000  people  homeless  (October  4  to  6, 
1872).  A  little  more  than  a  year  later  there  was  a  fire  in  Boston, 
second  only  to  that  of  Chicago  in  its  destructiveness.  It  burned 
over  sixty  acres  of  buildings,  and  caused  a  loss  of  $80,000,000, 
November  9  and  10,  1873. 


«• 


#^ 


MASSACRE  OF  GENERAL  CUSTER   AND  COMMAND  ON   THE    LITTLE  BIG  HORN    RIVER,  JUNE  25,    1876.    BY  THE    SIOUX 

INDIANS   UNDER  SITTING  BULL.     (See   Next  Page.) 

'831) 


832  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

The  commercial  expansion  that  followed  the  civil  war  culmi- 
nated in  a  period  of  over-speculation,  and  this,  in  the  fall  of  1873, 
led  to  a  disastrous  financial  panic.  Business  throughout  the 
country  was  prostrated  by  widespread  bankruptcy,  and  great  in- 
dustrial distress  resulted.  Four  years  passed  before  the  effects  of 
the  crash  disappeared. 

Throughout  Grant's  second  term  there  were  more  or  less  seri- 
ous Indian  troubles  in  the  West.  In  1872,  the  Modocs,  occupying 
a  reservation  in  California,  went  on  the  warpath,  and  murdered 
General  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas,  the  government  commissioners 
sent  to  confer  with  them.  After  a  tedious  campaign  the  rising 
was  put  down  by  United  States  troops,  and  the  chief,  Captain  Jack, 
was  hanged  for  the  murder  of  the  commissioners.  The  next  out- 
break was  among  the  Sioux,  in  the  Black  Hills,  on  the  border  of 
Dakota  and  Wyoming.  Gold  had  been  discovered  in  their  reser- 
vation, and  the  government  had  not  been  able  to  keep  out  the 
rush  of  gold-seekers.  The  Sioux,  indignant  at  the  invasion,  rose 
in  rebellion,  and  on  June  25,  1876,  they  surrounded  a  body  of  261 
troopers,  under  General  Custer,  on  the  Little  Big  Horn  River,  and 
killed  them.  After  this  success  Sitting  Bull,  the  leader  of  the 
hostiles,  fled  into  Canadian  territory. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1876,  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Fair- 
mount  Park,  Philadelphia,  was  opened  by  President  Grant.  For 
six  years  preparations  had  been  in  progress,  the  exhibition  being 
designed  to  commemorate  the  centennial  of  American  Independ- 
ence, and  illustrate  the  Nation's  progress  during  the  first  hundred 
years  of  existence.  It  was  the  largest  display  of  the  kind  that 
had  been  held  up  to  that  time,  the  covered  space  being  sixty  acres, 
and  the  cost  of  the  buildings  more  than  $4,000,000.  It  remained 
open  for  four  months,  the  number  of  visitors  being  over  ten 
millions,  and  the  receipts  for  admission  nearly  $4,000,000.  There 
were  more  than  thirty  thousand  exhibitors,  and  thirt)'-three  for- 
eign countries  were  represented. 

Colorado,  the  thirty-eighth  State,  was  admitted  to  the  Union 
on  the  1st  of  August,  1876. 

In  the  Presidential  conventions  of  that  year,  the  Republicans 
nominated  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  and  William  A.  Wheeler, 
of  New  York;  the  Democrats,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of  New  York, 
and  Thomas   A.  Hendricks,    of  Indiana.      The   contest  was  very 


HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


833 


close,  and  when  Congress  came  to  count  the  vote  it  was  found 
that  several  States  had  sent  conflicting  certificates.  To  settle  the 
dispute,  which  for  a  time  caused  great  excitement,  Congress  ap- 
pointed an  Electoral  Commission  of  fifteen  members — five  Sena- 
tors, five  Representatives,  and  five  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
By  a  strict  party  vote,  the  Commission  declared  that  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes  was  elected  to  the  Presidency. 

The  administration  of  President  Hayes  opened  with  the  with- 
drawal from  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  of  the  Federal  troops 
stationed  there  since  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  the  President  hav- 
ing declared  in  his  inaugural  address  that  the  self-government  of 
the  Southern  States  should  be  completely  re- 
stored. 

The  greatest  strikes  ever  known  in  America 
occurred  in  the  summer  of  1S77.  They  were 
caused  by  a  general  reduction  in  the  wages  of 
railroad  employees,  and  began  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  lines,  whence  they  spread  to  the  men 
on  other  railroad  systems  and  to  the  coal  miners 
of  Pennsylvania.  There  were  serious  riots  at 
several  points,  and  the  running  of  trains  was 
temporarily  stopped  throughout  a  great  part  of 
the  country.  The  rioters  were  finally  overpowered 
by  State  and  Federal  troops,  after  the  destruction 
of  much  property  and  the  loss  of  many  lives. 

Two  notable  financial  events  took  place 
during  Mr.  Hayes'  Presidency.  Congress  having 
passed  a  bill  to  make  the  silver  dollar  a  legal 
tender  for  all  debts,  unless  otherwise  stipulated  by  contract,  the 
President  vetoed  the  measure,  February  28,  1878.  On  the  same 
day  it  was  passed  over  his  veto  by  a  two-thirds  majority  of  both 
houses. 

Specie  payments  were  resumed  by  the  government,  after  seven- 
teen years'  suspension,  on  the  first  day  of  1879.  During  the  war 
it  was  forced  to  make  payments  in  currency,  which  became  so 
much  depreciated  that  in  1864  a  dollar  in  gold  was  worth  $2.85  in 
paper.  The  premium  on  gold  became  small  at  the  end  of  the  war, 
and  was  now  entirely  extinguished. 

The  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers  to  the  Pacific  coast  had 


RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


834  HISTORY    OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

become  so  serious  a  grievance  to  the  American  labor  of  tbat  sec- 
tion, that  a  treaty  was  negotiated  with  the  Pekin  government, 
whereby  restrictions  were  placed  upon  the  importation  of  China- 
men to  this  country.  The  treaty,  secured  through  the  diplomacy 
of  Mr.  Burlingame,  the  American  minister  to  China,  was  ratified 
by  the  Senate  on  the  16th  of  July,  1S78. 

In  that  summer  there  was  a  destructive  outbreak  of  yellow 
fever  in  the  cities  and  villages  along  the  lower  Mississippi.  The 
total  number  of  deaths  caused  by  the  epidemic  was  nearly  fourteen 
thousand,  New  Orleans  and  Memphis  suffering  most  severely.  Lib- 
eral money  contributions  and  other  assistances  were  received  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  and  distributed  by  the  Howard  Association. 

The  treaty  of  Washington,  negotiated  in  1871  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Alabama  question,  also  provided  for  a  Fishery  Com- 
mission, to  adjust  the  disputes  that  had  arisen  between  the  British 
and  American  governments  with  reference  to  the  Canadian  fisher- 
ies. The  commission  met  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  and  on  the  23rd 
of  November,  1878,  decided  that  the  United  States  should  pay  Great 
Britain  $5,500,000  for  infringements  of  the  latter's  rights. 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  selection  of  candidates  for  the 
Presidential  election  of  1880,  the  Republicans  were  mainly  divided 
between  Ex-President  Grant,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  tour 
around  the  world,  and  Senator  Blaine  of  Maine.  The  proposal  to 
nominate  Grant  was  in  contravention  of  the  tradition  against  third 
terms  in  the  Presidency,  and  after  his  eight  years  in  office  "  Grant 
himself  had  discountenanced  the  movement."  *  In  the  convention 
it  was  narrowly  defeated  by  a  combination  of  the  opposition  forces, 
which  nominated  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  and  Chester  A.  Ar- 
thur, of  New  York.  The  Democratic  candidates  were  General  Win- 
field  S.  Hancock,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  William  H.  English,  of 
Indiana.  The  popular  vote  was  very  close,  but  the  Republicans 
secured  a  majority  of  fifty-nine  in  the  electoral  college. 

General  Garfield,  who  thus  became  the  twentieth  President  of 
the  United  States,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  183 1,  and  brought  up  in 
very  humble  circumstances.  He  worked  his  way  through  college, 
served  with  distinction  in  the  war,  and  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  1863  up  to  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  Presidency.  His 
tenancy  of  that  office  was  brief.     Scarcely  four  months  after  his 

*  Blaine's  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,  Vol.  II.,  Chap.  29. 


INAUGURATION    OF    PRESIDENT    GARFIELD    ON    THE    EAST    PORTICO    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE,    MARCH    4,   1881. 


47 


(835) 


836 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 


inauguration  he  was  shot  by  a  worthless  char- 
acter named  Charles  J.  Guiteau,  in  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  railroad  station  at  Washing- 
ton, July  2,  1 88 1.  He  lingered  for  eleven  weeks 
before  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Blberon,  near 
Long  Branch,  New  Jersey,  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember. 

On  the  following  day  Vice-President  Arthur 
took  the  oath  of  office.  He  had  been  a  well- 
known  lawyer  and  politician  in  New  York,  where 
he  had  served  as  Collector  of  the  Port.  His  char- 
acter and  abilities  were  but  little  known  to  the 
nation  before  his  unexpected  elevation  to  the 
chief  magistracy. 

President  Arthur's  administration  was  an 
uneventful  one.  It  was  marked  by  a  continued 
expansion  of  the  country's  material  prosperity, 
and  by  some  notable  triumphs  of  the  American  inventive  faculty. 
The  telephone  was  perfected  by  Professor  Alexander  Graham  Bell, 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology, 
and  a  similar  instrument  on  a  different  principle 
was  produced  by  Thomas  A.  Edison,  who  also  in- 
vented the  phonograph. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1883,  the  great  bridge 
spanning  the  East  River,  and  connecting  the 
cities  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  was  opened. 
The  largest  structure  of  its  kind  in  the  world, 
it  was  designed  by  John  A.  Roebling,  and  had 
been  thirteen  years  in  building,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen 
million  dollars. 

Two  notable  centenaries  of  Revolutionary 
events  were  celebrated  during  Arthur's  Presi- 
dency. One  was  that  of  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis  at  Yorktown,  which  was  attended  by  a 
great  gathering  of  officials,  soldiers,  citizens  and 
foreigners  (October  19,  1881).  The  other  celebra- 
tion was  in  New  York,  and  commemorated  the  evacuation  of  the 
city  by  King  George  III.'s  troops  (November  26,  1883).  A  bronze 
statue  of  Washington  was  unveiled  in  Wall  Street  on  that  occasion. 


CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR. 


HISTORY    OK   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


837 


The  Revolutionary  centennials  also  led  to  the  completion  of 
the  great  Washington  Monument  at  the  national  capital,  which, 
commenced  fifty  years  before,  had  been  allowed  to  languish  for 
lack  of  funds.  It  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  21st  of 
February;  1885. 

To  succeed  President  Arthur  the  Republicans  placed  in  nom- 
ination, in  the  summer  of  1S84,  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  who 
had  been  Secretary  of  State  under  Garfield,  with  John  A.  Logan, 
of  Illinois,  as  their  candidate  for  Vice-President.  The  Democrats 
nominated  Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York,  and  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks, of  Indiana,  and  for  the  first  time  since  the  election  of 
Buchanan  in  1S56  the}'  were  successful  at  the  ^J 
polls.  Mr.  Cleveland's  political  rise  had  been  re- 
markably rapid.  Born  at  Caldwell,  New  Jersev,  Jj 
in  1837,  he  practiced  law  at  Buffalo  until  elected 
sheriff  of  Erie  County.  In  1881  he  became 
mayor  of  Buffalo,  and  a  year  later  was  elected 
Governor  of  New  York  by  a  phenomenally  large 
majority,  which  led  to  his  nomination  for  the 
Presidency. 

President  Cleveland's  administration,  like 
that  of  his  predecessor,  was  a  period  of  compara- 
tively uneventful  prosperity.  The  Democrats 
had  carried  the  country  upon  a  platform  which 
demanded  the  reform  and  reduction  of  the  tariff 
upon  imports.  The  chief  legislative  event  of 
the  administration  was  the  effort  of  the  Demo- 
crats in  Congress  to  effect  this  reduction  of 
duties  by  a  measure  known  as  the  Mills  bill,  from  the  name  of 
its  chief  author,  Congressman  Mills,  of  Texas.  The  bill  was 
passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (July  21,  1888),  but 
failed  iu  the  Senate,  where  there  was  a  Republican  majority. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  bring  to  an  end  the  still  unsettled 
questions  of  the  Canadian  fisheries  by  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain, 
negotiated  at  Washington  in  February,  1888.  The  treaty  was, 
however,  rejected  by  the  Senate.  A  bill  to  effect  the  more  complete 
exclusion  of  Chinese  immigrants  was  passed  in  the  same  year. 

During  Cleveland's  Presidency  two  of  the  great  Federal  gener- 
als  of    the   civil  war  passed    away  —  Grant  and    Sheridan.      E» 


GSOVER    CLEVELAND. 


83S 


HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


President  Grant  died  at  Mount  McGregor,  New  York,  after  a  long 
and  painful  struggle  with  a  cancerous  disease,  July  23d,  1885.  Gen- 
eral Sheridan,  who  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  United  States 
Army,  died  at  Nouquit,  Massachusetts,  August  5,  1888.  Another 
death  was  that  of  Vice-President  Hendricks,  on  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1885,  which  left  the  Vice-Presidential  office  vacant. 

In  the  summer  of  1888  Mr.  Cleveland  was  renominated  by  the 
Democrats,  who  named  Allen  G.  Thurman,  of  Ohio,  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  The  Republican  candidates  were  General  Benjamin 
Harrison,  of  Indiana,  and  Levi  P.  Morton,  of  New  York.  An  un- 
pleasant incident  of  the  canvass  was  the  disclosure,  just  before  the 

election,  of  the  fact  that  Lord  Sackville,  the 
British  minister  at  Washington,  had  been  en- 
trapped into  an  expression  of  partisanship. 
For  this  breach  of  diplomatic  rules  his  recall 
was  demanded  (October  30,  1888).  The 
election  resulted  in  the  victory  of  the  Repub- 
lican candidates. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  the  twenty-third 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  a  grand- 
son of  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  ninth 
President.  Born  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  in 
1833,  he  distinguished  himself  as  one  of 
H  Sherman's  officers  in  Georgia,  became  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer  in  Indianapolis,  and  represent- 
ed Indiana  in  the  United  States  Senate  from 
1881  to  18S7. 

The  first  year  of  President  Harrison's 
administration  was  rendered  remarkable  by  the  admission  to  the 
Union  of  six  new  States — North  and  South  Dakota,  Montana  and 
Washington  (November,  1889),  and  Idaho  and  Wyoming  (July, 
1890).  The  total  area  of  these  commonwealths  was  more  than 
600,000  square  miles — half  as  large  again  as  that  of  the  thirteen 
original  colonies,  and  completing  an  unbroken  line  of  States  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

The  tariff  question  again  occupied  the  attention  of  Congress 
during  1890.  The  Republicans  having  a  majority  in  both  branches, 
a  bill,  kuown  as  the  McKinley  bill,  was  passed  by  the  House  of 
Representatives  (May  21)  and  by  the  Senate  (September.  30),  and 


BENJAMIN     HARRISON. 


iaaaBaj:'.1 


839) 


840  HISTORY   OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

signed  by  the  President  (October  1),  to  increase  the  duties  on  a 
large  number  of  manufactured  articles,  including  especially  tin 
plate,  woolen  goods,  and  articles  of  apparel.  The  duty  on  sugar 
was  at  the  same  time  removed.  The  Fifty-first  Congress  was  also 
notable  for  the  strong  resistance  offered  by  the  minority  to  the 
rulings  of  the  Speaker,  Thomas  B.  Reed,  of  Maine,  who,  his  oppo- 
nents claimed,  violated  parliamentary  law  and  traditions  by  count- 
ing a  quorum  from  members  who  declined  to  vote. 

The  State  Department,  to  which  President  Harrison  called 
Mr.  Blaine  as  Secretary,  has  had  three  troublesome  international 
questions  to  deal  with  during  the  past  two  years.  One,  the  long 
standing  question  of  the  Behring  Sea  seal  fisheries,  the  American 
and  British  governments  have  now  agreed  to  refer  to  arbitrators, 
meanwhile  continuing  a  modus  vivendi  that  restricts  poaching. 

A  second  arose  from  the  lynching  (March  14,  1S91)  of  eleven 
Italians,  who  had  been  thrown  into  jail  at  New  Orleans  on  a  charge 
of  murdering  a  police  official.  As  some  of  the  victims  were  Italian 
citizens,  the  government  of  that  country  demanded  reparation. 
The  Federal  authorities  being,  under  the  Constitution,  unable  to 
interfere  in  a  matter  that  was  within  the  sole  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  of  Louisiana,  the  Italian  minister  was  hastily  withdrawn 
from  Washington  (March  31).  The  matter  was  recently  settled  by 
the  voting  of  an  imdemnity  of  $25,000  by  Congress. 

The  last  and  most  serious  complication  was  with  Chili.  A  civil 
war  broke  out  in  that  republic  in  January,  1891,  between  the  dicta- 
tor Balmaceda,  and  the  Congressional  party,  in  which  the  latter 
was  ultimately  successful.  The  United  States  men-of-war,  sent  to 
the  Chilian  coast  to  protect  American  property,  became  very  un- 
popular with  the  victorious  party,  on  account  of  their  supposed 
friendliness  to  Balmaceda,  and  because  the  Itata,  a  Congressional 
transport,  had  been  pursued  and  captured  on  a  charge  of  infringing 
the  neutrality  of  the  United  States.  This  resentment  culminated 
in  the  mobbing,  on  the  streets  of  Valparaiso,  of  some  seamen  be 
longing  to  the  steamer  Baltimore,  of  whom  two  were  killed  and  sev- 
eral wounded.  The  government  demanded  an  apology  and  repara- 
tion (October  26,  1891).  Unsatisfactory  and  dilatory  replies  were 
received  until  on  the  23rd  of  January,  1S92,  an  ultimatum  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Chilian  government,  demanding  that  it  should  im- 
mediately apologize  for  the  outrage  and  withdraw  an  insulting  cir- 


HISTORY    OK    THK    UNITED    STATES. 


841 


cular  that  had  been  issued  by  Seilor  Matta,  its  foreign  secretary. 
The  apparent  imminence  of  war  created  considerable  excitement, 
but  the  Chilian  government  acceded  to  the  ultimatum,  and  on  Jan- 
uary 28  the  President  informed  Congress  that  a  satisfactory  reply 
had  been  received,  thus  terminating  the  difficulty. 

In  order  to  celebrate  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
discovery  of  America  by  Christopher  Columbus,  an  act  was  passed 
by  Congress,  and  approved  by  the  President  April  25th,  1890,  pro- 
viding for  a  great  international  World's  Fair,  to  be  held  in  Chicago. 
Preparations  for  the  exhibition  are  now  well  under  way,  on  a  scale 
of  unprecedented  magnitude  and  magnificence.  There  is  to  be  an 
elaborate  dedicatory  ceremony  on  the  12th  of  October,  1892.  the 
exact  date  of  the  anniversary  of  Columbus'  landing.  The  buildings 
will  not  be  completed  and  equipped  until  the  summer  of  1893, 
during  which  the  Fair  will  be  held. 


BADGE   OF    THE   ORDER   OF   CINClNNATUS. 


LIST  OF  TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Book  I. — Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus. 

PAGE. 

1.  The  Muse  of  History,  seated  on    a   Toltec  altar,  inscribing  the  names  of  America's  greatest  historians 

in  the  book  of  fate.     Beside  her,  the  lamp  of  Christianity Title  page. 

2.  Initial  W,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,    ..............  ix 

3.  Fac-simile  of  signature  of  Hon.  Murat  Halstead, xv 

4.  Headpiece :  Pegasus,  drawn  by  Prof.  R.  Seitz,     ............  53 

5.  Initial  W,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell.     The  Viking  standing  in  the  prow  of  his  dragon,  drawn  by  Prof. 

J.  Gehrts 53 

6.  The  Saga ;  her  foot  resting  on  an  urn  containing  the  remains  of  Leif  Eric  ;  the  hem  of  her  dress  em- 

broidered with  the  titles  of  the  Sagas,  which  tell  of  his   travels   and  adventures,  drawn  by  Prof. 

William  Kaulbach - 55 

7.  Ornament,  copied  from  an  edition  of  Montanus, 56 

8.  House  in  Cogoletto  ;  one  of  the  many  buildings  claimed  to  have  been  the  birthplace  of  the  illustrious 

navigator,  Columbus 57 

9.  Initial  C,  with  Yanez  portrait  of  Columbus,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 57 

10.  Monument  of  Columbus  at  Genoa,  from  a  photograph 58 

11.  Naval  fight  between  Mohammedan  and  Christian  galleys, 59 

12.  Medal  of  Alphonse  the  Wise,  of  Naples.     Berlin 60 

13.  Medal  of  King  Rene  and  his  wife,  Johanna.     Berlin, 61 

14.  Naval  Battle  in  the  XV.  Century.     Copied  from  a  miniature  in  the  Breslau  copy  of  the  "  Froissart,"       .  61 

15.  Naval  battle  between  galleys,  fustae  and  seagoing  vessels,          .........  63 

16.  Headpiece:    Wisdom  (the  owl),  holding  diploma  in  her  talons, 64 

17.  Initial  T,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 64 

18.  Coat  of  arms  of  Portugal, 64 

19.  Portrait  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator.     From  a  miniature  in  the  National  Library,  Paris,       .         .         .65 

20.  Statue  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  over  the  portal  of  the  cloister  of  Belem 66 

21.  Portrait  of  Columbus  in  the  Marine  Museum,  Madrid 67 

22.  View  of  Lisbon  from  the  Tagus.     From  an  engraving  of  the  XVI.  century, 68 

23.  Saint  engaged  in  prayer,       ................  69 

24.  Part  of  Sir  Martin  Behem's  (Behaims)  Globus,  showing  the  supposed  location  of  the  Island  of  St.  Brandan,  70 

25.  The  Legend  of  the  celebration  of  the  offices  of  the  Holy  Mass  by  St.  Brandan  on  the  back  of  a  mon- 

strous whale  ;  from  an  old  print, 7° 

26.  Headpiece:  Cosmographer  in  deep  study ;  child  chasing  bubbles, 71 

27.  Initial  W,  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 71 

28.  Portrait  of  Marco  Polo,  in  the  Gallery  Badia,  Rome 72 

29.  The  ocean  side  of  Sir  Martin  Behem's  (Behaim)  Globus  preserved  in  Nuremberg;  the  proper  position 

of  the  American  continent  indicated  by  dotted  lines 73 

(843) 


844  LIST   OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 


30.  House  said  to  have  been  occupied  by  Columbus  on  the  island  of  Porto  Santo.     From  a  photograph,      .  74 

31.  Portrait  of  Columbus,  known  as  the  "  Yanez."     National  Library,  Madrid,         .         .         .         .         .         -75 

32.  Tailpiece  :  Globus,  documents,  bullae,  etc.,  drawn  by  Prof.  R.  Seitz, 76 

33.  Front  and  rear  of  an  Arabian  astrolabe,  preserved  in  the  National  Library,  Paris 77 

34.  Initial  W,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 77 

35.  Cross  Staff  and  its  application, .  79 

36.  Audience  of  Columbus  with  King  John  of  Portugal 80 

37.  Sepulchre  of  King  Don  Juan  (John)  and  Dona  Isabella,  of  Portugal;  cloister  of  Miraflores,  Burgos. 

From  a  photograph,        ................  81 

38.  The  Grand  Canal  in  Venice.     After  a  pen-drawing  by  H.  Foote, 82 

39.  Seal  of  King  Henry  VII.  of  England.     Berlin  Archives,              83 

40.  View  of  the  town  of  Palos  and  the  convent  of  La  Rabida, 85 

41.  Columbus  at   the  gate  of  the  cloister  of  La  Rabida.      In  front  of  the  cloister  the  peculiarly-shaped 

obelisk  surmounted  with  a  cross.    From  a  painting  in  the  convent.      Initial  T,  drawn  by  O.  Graeff,  85 

42.  Ideal  portrait  of  Father  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena 86 

43.  The  consultation  in  the  convent ;  painting  by  F.  Maso,       ..........  86 

44.  The  cell  of  the  Prior  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  in  the  convent  of  La  Rabida.     From  a  photograph,  87 

45.  View  of  the  town  of  Cordova  and  the  old  Roman  bridge.     From  a  photograph 87 

46.  Ideal  portrait  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic  ;  painting  by  Bequer.     S.  Telmo,  Seville,  .         .         .         .88 

47.  Ideal  portrait  of  Isabella  the  Catholic  ;  painting  by  Bequer.     S.  Telmo,  Seville, 89 

48.  Tailpiece  :  Conventionalized  Eagle 89 

49.  Knights  in  full  armor  leaving  a  feudal  castle  ;  drawing  by  A.  de  Neuville,         ......  90 

50.  Columbus'  sojourn  in  Cordova 91 

51.  The  Church  of  S.  Domingo  at  Salamanca.     From  a  photograph, 95 

52.  Headpiece :  Astronomy, 96 

53.  Principal  entrance  to  the  University  of  Salamanca.     From  a  photograph, 97 

54.  Columbus  distinguishes  himself  in  one  of  the  severest  campaigns  against  the  Moors,  by  his  personal 

prowess,         ..................  103 

55.  The  Holy  Sepulchre  in  Jerusalem,         ..............  104 

56.  The  castle  of  the  Alhambra.     From  a  photograph, 104 

57.  Tailpiece:  Columbus  before  the  Doctors  at  Salamanca.     From  the  bas-relief  of  the  statue  at  Genoa,      .  105 

58.  Portrait  of  King  Charles  VIII.  of  France.     Unknown  artist 106 

59.  The  Prior  of  La  Rabida  prevails  upon  Columbus  to  delay  his  departure  for  Paris.      Painting  by  Don 

Juan  Llimona  y  Bruguera,     ...............  107 

60.  Sword  of  Boabdil  "  El  Chico."      Royal  Arsenal,  Madrid, 108 

61.  Portrait  of  Boabdil.     Flemish  painting  of  the  XVII.  century,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .111 

62.  Coat  of  mail  of  Boabdil.     Royal  Arsenal,  Madrid m 

63.  The  recall  of  Columbus  at  the  bridge  of  Pinos.     Drawing  by  F.  H.  Lungren,    .         .         .         .        .         .  115 

64.  Portrait  of  Isabella  the  Catholic.     (Accepted  as  authentic.)     Flemish  school, 116 

65.  Pages  in  waiting.     Drawing  by  Prof.  A.  Wagner • 120 

66.  Page  of  the  XVI.  century 121 

67.  Notary  public  reading  royal  order.     Drawing  by  Merge 122 

68.  Hull  of  a  large  ocean  boat  on  the  dry-dock.     Copied  from  a  XV.  century  woodcut,  .         .         .         .122 

69.  The  ships  of  Columbus.     The  Santa  Maria,  the  Nina  and  Pinta.      Restored  from  models  in  the  Marine 

Museum,  Madrid, 126 

70.  Columbus  notices  for  the  first  time  the  variation  of  the  needle.     Painting  by  Prof.  C.  v  Piloty,                 .  129 

71.  The  eager  and  anxious  watch  from  the  masthead, 130 

72.  Becalmed  in  the  Sargasso  sea 131 

73.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  mistakes  an  evening  cloud  for  land, 133 

74.  Columbus  and  Pedro  Gutierrez  watching  the  glimmering  light  on  the  night  of  Oct.  II,  1492.      Marble 

statue,  by  Don  D.  Amore.     Escurial, 137 

75.  Initial  W,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 140 

76.  Natives  of  the  Lucayos.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou, 144 

77.  Columbus  distributes  hawks-bells  and  other  trifles  among  the  natives  of  Guanahani,         ....  145 

78.  Arrival  of  the  embassy  to  the  imaginary  Cublay  Khan  at  an  Indian  village.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou,   .         .  150 

79.  Indian  producing  fire.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou, 151 


LIST   OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS.  845 

PACK. 

80.  Indian  woman  taking  a  bath.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou, 1 53 

81.  Hospitable  reception  of  the  shipwrecked  Columbus  by  the  cacique  Guacanagari.     Drawn  by  C.  F. 

Reinhardt.    ..................  jc* 

82.  Three  sailors  of  Columbus  succeed  in  overtaking  a  young  and  handsome  Indian  girl,  and  bring  their 

captive  beauty  to  the  ship.     Drawn  by  O.  Graeff, ,tt 

83.  Spanish  ducat  of  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, ,  c(, 

84.  The  communal  evening  meal.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou !  58 

85.  Arquebuses  with  crane  attachment.     Artillery  Museum,  Paris 150 

86.  Indians  preparing  for  one  of  their  ceremonial  dances.     Drawn  by  C.  Riou,  ......  161 

87.  Tailpiece  :     Minerva  with  rudder  and  crown,  accompanied  by  the  Genius  of  Fame 165 

88.  Initial  I.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell ,66 

89.  Skirmish  of  Columbus  with  the  natives  of  the  bay  of  Samana,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,         .         .         .  167 

90.  Procession  of  penitents.     Historical  Museum  of  Costumes,  Paris,  ........  160 

91.  Columbus  throws  a  brief  summary  of  the  ship's  log  overboard.     Drawn  by  Ed.  Johnson,    .         .         .  170 

92.  The  governor  of  St.  Mary's  attempts  to  arrest  Columbus 171 

93.  The  royal  castle  of  Belem.     From  a  photograph 173 

94.  Fac-simile  of  first  page  of  the  first  Latin  pamphlet  which  brought  the  news  to  the  world,  of  the  dis- 

covery of  the  New  World.     British  Museum, 174 

95.  Columbus  escorted  back  to  his  ships  by  the  Portuguese  cavaliers.     Drawing  by  Yicrge,         .         .         .  177 

96.  Arrival  of  the  ships  of  Columbus  in  the  harbor  of  Palos.     Drawing  by  A.  de  Neuville,         .         .         .178 

97.  The  Church  of  St.  George  at  Palos.     From  a  Photograph 170, 

98.  Monument  of  Isabella,  the  Catholic,  at  Madrid,  Spain.     From  a  photograph, 181 

99.  Headpiece:     Entry  of  Columbus  into  Barcelona.     Drawing  by  J.Paso, 182 

100.  Initial  T,  with  coat  of  arms  of  Columbus.     Drawing  by  H.  L.  Bridwell. 182 

101.  Interior  of  the  cathedral  of  Barcelona.     From  a  photograph, 185 

102.  Armor  of  Columbus.     Royal  Arsenal,  Madrid.     From  a  photograph 187 

103.  Fac-simile  of  an  Italian  pamphlet,  printed  at  Florence,  1493,  representing  the  landing  of  Columbus. 

British  Museum, 188 

104.  Headpiece  :     Supremacy  of  the  Papal  power  over  all  mundane  things  and  affairs,         ....  191 

105.  Initial  I,  with  medal  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.     Berlin.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,           ....  191 

106.  Portrait  of  Pope  Alexander  VI., 192 

107.  Don  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  exhibits  his  skill  and  prowess  on  the  Giralda  at  Seville.   Drawn  by  O.  Graeff,     .  196 

108.  Headpiece  :  with  Jomard  portrait  of  Columbus 197 

109.  Initial  T.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 197 

no.  Caribs  torturing  a  prisoner  whose  flesh  they  devour  while  he  is  still  alive, 199 

in.  Tailpiece:  Columbus  in  Barcelona.     Bas-Relief  from  the  monument  at  Genoa 204 

112.  Initial  O.     Indian  native,  drawing  by  C.  Riou.     Initial  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,     .          .         .         .         .         ,  205 

113.  Columbus  with  the  assistance  of  his  Indians  from  Santa  Cruz  finds  the  bodies  of  the  slain  garrison 

of  La  Navidad 207 

114.  Father  Boyle.     Drawn  by  Leopold  Flameng, 210 

115.  The  conspirator,  Bernal  Diaz  de  Pisa,  arrested  and  confined  on  one  of  the  ships,           ....  216 

116.  Tailpiece:   Parrots,     .................  217 

117.  Initial  A.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 218 

118.  Columbus  and  his  army  crossing  the  Puerto  de  los  Hidalgos, 219 

119.  Columbus  builds  the  fort  St.  Thomas  in  the  golden  regions  of  Cibao.     Drawing  by  A.  de  Neuville,       .  220 

120.  Tailpiece,                                                                                 221 

121.  Indian  fashioning  a  bow.     Drawing  by  C.  Riou 222 

122.  Zemi,  found  in  various  parts  of  the  West  Indies 223 

123.  Indian  hut  in  the  Antilles.     Drawing  by  C.  Riou ^ 223 

124.  Indian  dance.     Drawing  by  C.  Riou 226 

125.  Natives  of  Hayti.     Drawing  by  C.  Riou 227 

126.  Tailpiece:  The  church  militant.     Drawing  by  Gyula  Benczur 228 

127.  Initial  C 229 

128.  Father  Boyle  receives  the   news  that  himself  and   associates  are  included  in  the  order  "to  be  put 

upon  allowance,"  with  irritation,         .............  230 

129.  A  public  execution  in  the  fifteenth  century 232 


846  LIST   OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

130.  First  map  of  Cuba 235 

131.  The  expedition  in  quest  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mangon,  236 

132.  The  Emperor  (chief-of-men)  Montezuma.     The  picture  reconstructed  from  data  furnished  by  the  Ram- 

irez MSS.  and  Clavigero's  research.     Drawing  by  P.  Fritel, 237 

133.  Tailpiece  :  Alligator  basking  in  the  sun,      .............  238 

134.  Initial  C,  with  the  Capriolo  portrait  of  Columbus.      Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell  from  a  copy  contained  in 

an  Italian  work  published  in   1596 239 

135.  A  Cuban  cacique  addresses  Columbus  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul,       .......  240 

136.  Plus  Ultra.     The  discovery  of  America.     Christian  Spain  (the  lion)  stepping  across  the  Atlantic  to 

carry  its  civilization  and  blessings  to  the  Indians, 244 

137.  Tailpiece, 245 

138.  Initial  A:  Columbus  is  greeted  by  the  sight  of  his  long  absent  brother  Don  Bartholomew,  at  his  bedside,  246 

139.  Portrait  of  Charles  VIII  of  France 247 

140.  Seal  of  Charles  VIII  of  France, 247 

141.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda 250 

142.  Tailpiece:   Ojeda, 257 

143.  Ducat,  natural  size,  time  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 260 

144.  Battle  of  the  Vega 261 

145.  Medal  with  the  Spanish  coat  of  arms,  time  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 261 

146.  Idyllic  life  of  the  natives  of  Hayti,  drawn  by  C.  Riou, 262 

147.  The  cruel  and  relentless  pursuit  of  the  famished  Indians 263 

148.  Tailpiece  :  Death, 264 

149.  Initial  W,  Indian  mother  and  children,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,         .........  265 

150.  The  Junto  of  pious  theologians  discussing  the  subject  of  human  slavery,         ......  266 

IS  I.  Columbus  on  the  eve  of  departure  overtaken  by  a  hurricane 269 

152.  View  of  the  city  of  San  Domingo,  reproduced  from  a  print  of  the  16th  Century, 270 

153.  Initial  T,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell.     Natives  of  the  Island  of  Guadaloupe,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,      .         .  271 

154.  Death  of  the  Cacique  Caonabo  on  board  of  the  caravel  Santa  Cruz,  bewailed  only  by  one  of  his  wild 

native  heroines,  drawn  by  O.  Graeff, 273 

155.  Columbus,  clad  in  the  habit  of  a  franciscan  monk,  makes  his  entry  into  Burgos  on  his  return  from  his 

second  voyage, 274 

156.  Secretary  in  the  door  of  the  antechamber  to  his  Eminence  the  Bishop  of  Burgos,    .....  277 

157.  Columbus  personally  castigates  a  minion  of  bishop  Fonseca,  by  striking  the  despicable  dependent  to 

the  ground 278 

158.  Tailpiece, , 278 

1 59.  Initial  O  :  Columbus  on  the  pearl  coast 279 

160.  Columbus  nearly  swept  from  his  anchors  by  a  sudden  rush  and  swell  of  the  sea 281 

161.  Tailpiece:  Mermaid  bringing  the  riches  of  America  to  the  shores  of  Spain 284 

162.  Initial  C  :  Indian  porter,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 285 

163.  Modern  plan  of  the  city  of  San  Domingo, 285 

164.  Inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Xaragua,  drawn  by  C.  Riou 286 

165.  The  Adelantado  sets  out  with  a  body  of  troops  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Conception 290 

166.  Ocean  boat  end  of  the  XV.  century,  tacking  before  the  wind, 291 

167.  Francisco  Roldan, 292 

168.  The  pursuit  of  the  cacique  Guarionex 295 

169.  A  mountaineer  of  Ciguay,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,     ............  296 

170.  Tailpiece  :   Knight  of  the  XV.  century  in  full  armor, 297 

171.  The  trusty  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal  lands  among  the  rebels  in  order  to  conciliate  them  to  the  Ad- 

miral, ..................  300 

172.  Meeting  of  Miguel  Ballester  with  the  outposts  of  the  rebels 301 

173.  Carvajal  delivers  the  letter  of  the  Admiral  to  the  rebels 303 

174.  The  riotous  and  licentious  life  of  the  followers  of  Roldan,         .........  304 

175.  Initial  A,  with  portrait  of  Amerigo  Vespucci 307 

176.  Roldan  intercepts  Ojeda 308 

177.  Fac-simile  of  the  page  in  Waldseemuller's  Cosmografia  Introductio,  wherein  the  name  of  America  is 

first  suggested  as  the  name  to  be  given  to  the  newly  discovered  continent,         .....  31I 


LIST   OF   TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS.  847 

PAGE. 

178.  Fac-Simile  of  last  lines  of  a  letter  addressed   by  Amerigo   Vespucci  to   the    Cardinal  Archbishop  of 

Toledo  ;  dated  Seville,  Dec.  9,  1508 311 

179.  Diego  de  Escobar,        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         ;         .  312 

180.  The  conspirator  Adrian  de  Moxica  suddenly  surprised  and  arrested 316 

181.  Statue  of  Columbus  in  the  city  of  Mexico 317 

182.  Initial  W,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 318 

183.  The  bishop  of  Placentia,  Juan  Rodriguez  de  Fonseca, 318 

1S4.  Isabella  orders  the  Indian  slaves  brought  to  Spain  to  be  immediately  returned  to  their  native  lands,      .  320 

185.  Francisco  de  Bobadilla  causes  his  letters  of  credence  to  be  proclaimed 321 

186.  The  rabble  of  San  Domingo  on  the  road  to  the  prison,      ..........  322 

187.  Ruins  of  the  castle  of  Columbus  in  Hispaniola, 323 

188.  Tailpiece  :  Might  grasping  the  regal  power  (the  sword) .                 ...  323 

189.  Columbus  in  chains  aboard  the  Gorda,  painting  by  Mareschal .  325 

190.  Manacles  in  use  in  the  XV.  century  ;  Museum  Cluny,  Paris .  326 

191.  Columbus  refuses  to  permit  the  fetters  with  which  he  is  loaded  to  be  removed 328 

192.  Tailpiece:  Columbus  loaded  with  chains  ;  from  the  bas-relief  of  the  statue  at  Genoa 331 

193.  Monument  of  Columbus  in  front  of  the  Cathedral  at  San  Domingo.     From  a  photograph,     .                 .  335 

194.  Repartimientos  of  Indians  washing  gold 338 

195.  A  Spanish  cavalier  of  the  XV.  century  traveling  through  the  Island  of  San  Domingo,     ....  339 

196.  Tailpiece :  Saddle  from  the  early  part  of  the  XVI.  century.     Armory,  Madrid 340 

197.  Initial  C,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 341 

198.  Carthusian  friar,  drawn  by  Leopold  Flameng,     ............  341 

199.  Portrait  of  Vasco  de  Gama,  from  a  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum 342 

200.  Coat  of  arms  of  Vasco  de  Gama 343 

201.  Signature  of  Vasco  de  Gama,  Archives,  Lisbon, 3*.  3 

202.  Corso  delas  Delicias,  Seville 344 

203.  The  destruction  of  the  fleet  of  Bobadilla 347 

204.  Indian  potters  from  the  coast  of  Honduras, 348 

205.  Indian  woman  of  Ciguare  spinning,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,     .........  350 

206.  Indian  from  the  Mosquito  coast,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,         ..........  352 

207.  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  on  the  road  through  the  virgin  forests  of  Veragua,  to  the  reputed  gold  mines,  356 

208.  Diego  Mendez  approaching  the  village  of  the  cacique  Quibian,  drawn  by  C.  Riou,         ....  357 

209.  Violent  struggle  of  the  cacique  Quibian  and  the  Adelantado, 359 

210.  Tailpiece:    Bottom  of  enameled  cup  found  in  the  cemetery  of  Tenenepango,  Mexico,     ....  360 

211.  The  Adelantado  wounded  by  one  of  Quibian's  warriors,   ..........  361 

212.  Indian  prisoners  make  a  break  for  liberty,  by  throwing  themselves  headlong  into  the  sea  from  the  fore- 

castle of  the  caravel •  363 

213.  Tailpiece:  Death;  a  soldier's  accoutrements, 3^5 

214.  Headpiece  :  American  fruit  and  cereals, ...  366 

215.  Columbus  runs  the  caravel  aground  on  the  Island  of  Jamaica 367 

216.  Indians  bringing  provisions  for  barter  to  the  shipwrecked  crew  of  Columbus 368 

217.  Diego  Mendez  visiting  the  Indian  villages  to  obtain  a  regular  supply  of  provisions  for  the  shipwrecked 

crew,  drawn  by  C.  Riou, 3°9 

218.  Leguans 3°9 

219.  Columbus  thanks  his  noble  and  zealous  follower,  Diego  Mendez,  for  his  devotion  to  his  cause,               .  370 
226.  Indian  Fight.     After  an  engraving  by  Jean  de  Levy 37 1 

221.  Monument  of  Columbus  at  Barcelona 372 

222.  Initial  M,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 373 

223.  The  Adelantado,  sword  in  hand,  braves  the  fury  of  the  mutineers, 375 

224.  Columbus  and  the  eclipse, ...  377 

225.  Tailpiece:  Globus  and  astronomical  instruments 378 

226.  Initial  E,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 379 

227.  Revolt;  Porras  leading  the  rebels  towards  the  harbor -  3°' 

228.  Porras.     Drawing  by  Mariano  Fortuny 3°2 

229.  Diego  Mendez  importunes  Ovando  to  send  succor  to  the  shipwrecked  Columbus 387 

230.  Indians  making  birch  bark  canoes,     ......•••••••■  3°9 


848  LIST   OF   TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 


231.  Ovando  sets  out  for  Xaragua  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  400  men 392 

232.  Anacaona,  the  Golden  Flower  of  Xaragua 393 

233.  Armor  of  the  XV.  century,  Artillery  Museum,  Paris 395 

234.  The  golden  tower  of  Seville,  from  a  photograph, 397 

235.  Isabella  dictates  her  last  will  and  testament,  painting  by  Edward  Rosales, 399 

236.  Queen  Isabella  in  the  armor  of  a  knight, 400 

237.  Sepulchre  of  the  catholic  king  and  queen  in  the  Cathedral  of  Granada,  from  a  photograph,    .         .         .  401 

238.  Bronze  statue  of  Ferdinand  in  the  cathedral  of  Malaga, 403 

239.  House  in  Valladolid  where  Columbus  died,        ............  407 

240.  Columbus  monument  in  the  convent  of  Las  Cuevas,  Seville,     .........  408 

241.  Leaden  coffin  with  the  remains  of  Columbus  (?)  found  in  the  Cathedral  of  San  Domingo,     .         .         .  409 

242.  Memorial  Tablet  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Havana, 409 

243.  Silver  plates,  with  inscription,  found  on  the  leaden  box,  which  is  supposed  to  contain  the  remains  of  Co- 

lumbus, ..................  410 

244.  Inscriptions  on  the  lid  of  the  leaden  box  found  in  the  Cathedral  of  San  Domingo,  .....  410 

245.  Marble  monument  of  Columbus  at  Madrid,  executed  by  Don  Jeronimo  Sufiol 411 

246.  Headpiece:  Muse  of  History,  with  a  pair  of  balances  in  hand 412 

247.  The  Parmegiano  portrait  of  Columbus  (?).        •.         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .413 

248.  Tailpiece:  Coat  of  Arms  of  Columbus,       .............  416 


T 


Book  II. — The  Conquest  of  Mexico. 


PAGE. 


249.  Headpiece:  The  Conquest  of  Mexico,        .............  421 

250.  The  ignoble  and  cruel  death  of  the  cacique  Hatuey,. 422 

251.  Lacondan  (Yucatan)  chief  and  family,  drawing  by  P.  Fritel 424 

252.  Principal  facade  of  the  palace  of  the  nuns  at  Chichen-ltza,  Yucatan,  from  Charnay's  Ancient  Cities,     .  425 

253.  Left  wing  of  the  palace  of  the  nuns  at  Chichen-ltza,  Yucatan,  from  Charnay's  Ancient  Cities,         .         .  426 

254.  Initial  Letter  N,  drawing  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 427 

255.  Exterior  of  the  palace  at  Palenque,  Yucatan 428 

256.  The  house  of  the  dwarfs  at  Uxmal,  Yucatan,  from  Charnay's  Ancient  Cities 431 

257.  Italian  armor  of  the  XVI.  century 432 

258.  Initial  W,  with  ideal  head  of  Dona  Marina,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 433 

259.  The  gateway  of  the  archives  of  the  University  of  Salamanca 435 

260.  Velasquez  gives  his  last  orders  to  Cortes  on  the  eve  of  his  departure, 437 

261.  Spanish  Eagle 439 

262.  The  flag  under  which  Cortes  fought 440 

263.  A  modern  Toltec  (Yucatan)  maiden,  from  a  photograph, 444 

264.  The  Spanish  camp  at  San  Juan  de  Ulloa, 445 

265.  A  page  from  the  Maya  manuscript  preserved  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Dresden 446 

266.  Terra-cotta  heads  and  masks  found  at  Teotihuacan,  Mexico 447 

267.  Ancient  Mexican  vases, 448 

268.  Helmets,  incrusted  with  turquoises ;  Hertz  collection,  Paris,  copied  from  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg's,  Pa- 

lenque,  449 

269.  Initial  A,  with  portrait  of  Montezuma  II. ;  initial  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell.     The  portrait,  said  to  be 

one  executed  at  the  command  of  Cortes, 450 

270.  Kneeling  Lacondan  idol, 451 

271.  The  Temalacatl  or  gladiatorial  stone,  from  the  Ramirez  MSS, .  452 

272.  Mexican  Calendar  stone,  National  Museum,  Mexico,  from  a  photograph 452 

273.  Terra-cotta  vases  found  at  Tenenepango,  Mexico,     ...........  455 

274.  Pottery,  with  the  figure  of  the  god  Tlaloc,  .............  456 

275.  Cortes  declares,  amidst  the  shouts  of  applause  from  his  soldiers,  that  he  will  conduct  them  to  victory 

and  glory, 457 


LIST   OF   TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS.  849 

PACE 

276.  Cross  from  the  temple  of  the  cross,  Palenque,  Yucatan, 458 

277.  Tailpiece :  Soldier  with  halberts,  double-handed  sword,  etc 459 

278.  The  pyramid  of  Tehuantepec 461 

279.  Priest  fighting  with  a  prisoner  fastened  to  the  temalacatl. 462 

280.  Aztec  priest  skinning  a  human  victim,        .............  462 

281.  The  Techcatl,  or  stone  of  sacrifice 462 

282.  The  Emperor  Charles  V.  in  his  31st  year,  after  the  engraving  of  Bartel  Behaim,     .....  465 

283.  Cortes  plants  the  Christian  symbol  of  redemption  on   a     Mexican  altar.     Marble  statue  by  D.  Antonio 

Molto  y  Such 473 

284.  Initial  C,  with  armor  worn  by  Cortes.     Arsenal,  Madrid  , 474 

285.  Profile  of  a  warrior,  cut  in  mother  of  pearl.     Found  at  Tula 475 

286.  Ruins  of  the  fortress  of  Mitla 475 

287.  Mexican  altar.     After  Stephens.     (Incidents  and  Travels,  etc.) 476 

288.  An  Aztec  tiger  knight.     Copied  from  the  model  in  the  museum  of  the  Trocadero,  Paris,        .         .         .  480 

289.  Priests  offering  a  sacrifice  to  Cuculcan.     (Quetzalcoatl) 481 

290.  Mexican  Gods  and  Goddesses 484 

291.  Mexican  Gods  and  Goddesses,    . 485 

292.  Sculpture  from  the  temple  of  the  cross,  Palenque.      Priest  sacrificing  before  a  cross,         .  485 

293.  Priests  before  an  altar,  surmounted  with  a  cross,  from  the  temple  (No.  2)  of  the  cross  at  Palenque,         .  486 

294.  Reception  of  Cortes  hy  the  Aztec  dignitaries,  upon  his  entry  into  Cholula,       ..'...  487 

295.  Cortes  releases  the   imprisoned   Cholulan    magistrates,  and   admonishes   them  to  recall  the  fugitive 

citizens,  ..................  489 

296.  Cortes  and  his  army  see  the  city  of  Mexico  spread  out  before  their  enchanted  vision,  upon  reaching  the 

heights  of  Chalco 490 

297.  The  stone  of  the  sun,  or  Tizoc,  in  the  National  Museum,  Mexico,     .  491 

298.  First  meeting  of  Cortes  with  the  Emperor  (chief-of-men)  Montezuma,  on  the  8th  of  November,  15 19,     .  493 

299.  Palace  of  the  Governor  at  Uxmal,  Yucatan 494 

300.  Plan  of  the  City  of  Mexico.     From  the  Nuremberg  original.     The  letters  of  Cortes  to  Charles  V,  .  495 

301.  The  great  Teocalli  buildings  in  the  city  of  Mexico.     Restored  by  O.  Mothes,  after  Gomara's  descrip- 

tion  495 

302.  Detail  from  the  eastern  facade  of  the  palace  of  the  nuns  at  Uxmal,  .......  496 

303.  Quetzalcoatl  or  Cuculan .  497 

304.  Montezuma's  general,  Oualpopoca,  engages  Escalante  and  his  Mexican  allies,        .....  498 

305.  The  Emperor  (chief-of-men)  Montezuma.     From  Montanus'  Neuwe  en  Onbekende  Weereld.  .         .  499 

306.  Sculpture  from  Copan,  to,show  dress,  armor  and  ornaments,  500 

307.  Tailpiece  :  The  Spanish  eagle  on  the  prostrate  Mexico,     - 591 

308.  Headpiece :  Mayan  architecture, •         .         .         .  502 

309.  Panel  in  the  rear  of  the  altar  of  the  sun,  at  Tikal,      ....  506 

310.  The  volcanoes  Popocatepetl  and  Iztaccihuatl,  Mexico 507 

311.  Mexican  tamenes  (porters), 5°8 

312.  Cortes  declares  before  the  assembled  Mexican  nobles  that  his  master  does  not  intend  to  deprive  Mon- 

tezuma of  his  dignities,  .  5°9 

313.  Priests  with  Quetzalcoatl's  emblem  in  hand,  officiating  before  an  altar.     From  Lorillard,  Yucatan,  .  511 

314.  Cortes  overthrows  a  Mexican  altar  on  the  top  of  the  great  teocalli 512 

315.  Front  and  rear  view  of  bust  of  a  priestess,  found  at  Palenque,  ........  5'3 

316  Initial  A,  with  knights  in  full  armor,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 5'4 

317.  Cortes  marches  out  of  Mexico  to  give  battle  to  the  army  of  Narvaez 519 

3x8.  Modern  Mexican  Indians  enameling  earthenware, 52° 

319.  Cortes  passing  the  swollen  river  of  Canoas  under  great  difficulty 522 

320.  The  capitulation  of  Narvaez'  army 52S 

321.  Tailpiece:  a  musketeer  of  the  XVI.  century 52^ 

322.  Initial  B  :  knights  charging.     Drawing  by  H.  L.  Bridwell 527 

323.  Surrounding  wall  of  the  great  teocalli  and  temple,  showing  the  great  entry  gate.     Restoration  after 

Mothes 528 

324.  The  Spaniards  besieged  in  their  own  quarters  by  the  infuriated  Mexicans 530 

325.  Montezuma  mortally  wounded  on  the  battlements  of  the  Spanish  quarters 532 


850  LIST   OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

326.  Cortes,  in  imminent  danger  of  his  own  life,  saved  by  his  strength  and  agility, 534. 

327.  The  "Noche  triste  "  (the  sorrowful  night), 535 

32S.  Tailpiece 541 

329.  The  Noche  triste  tree  at  Popotlan,  from  a  photograph 542 

330.  Strategy  of  Cortes  at  the  battle  of  Otumba 544 

331.  Mexican  soldiers  waylay  the  treasure-laden  Spaniards  in  the  mountains,  and  utterly  annihilate  them,    .  545 

332.  Tlascalans  cutting  down  timber  for  the  construction  of  the  brigantines, 546 

333.  The  Spaniards,  assisted  by  their  Tlascalan  allies,  reduce  the  Tepeacans  to  subjection 548 

334.  The  garrison  of  Vera  Cruz  sight  the  vessels  sent  by  the  governor  of  Cuba  in  aid  of  Narvaez  and  decoy 

them  into  the  harbor 548 

335.  Initial  N,  figure  of  Guatemotzin,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 550 

336.  Cortes  and  his  allies  take  the  city  of  Tezcuco  by  storm 552 

337.  Execution  of  Villefaria  in  the  presence  of  some  of  his  fellow  conspirators 555 

338.  Modern  Mexican  porter, 556 

339.  The  Sagrario  adjoining  the  Cathedral  of  Mexico 559 

340.  The  house  of  Cortes  in  the  city  of  Mexico  (from  a  photogroph), 560 

341.  The  Spaniards  forcing  their  way  over  ditches  and  canals  into  the  beleaguered  city,         ....  560 

342.  Huitzilopochtli,  the  God  of  war, 561 

343.  The  priests  on  the  top  of  the  great  teocalli  sounding  the  snakeskin  drum  consecrated  to  Huitzilopochtli.  561 

344.  Sacrifice  of  forty  Spaniards  and  hundreds  of  Tlascalans  captured  by  Guatemotzin  during  the  assault 

upon  the  city ■  562 

345.  Statue  of  Huitzilopochtli,  found  near  Mitla 563 

346.  Tailpiece:  Aztec  and  Spanish  arms,  trophies,  etc 563 

347.  Statue  of  the  god  Tlaloc,  Museum  of  Mexico, 564 

348.  The  heroic  Guatemotzin  defends  the  palladium  of  his  country  with  obstinate  resolution,  disputing  every 
inch  of  ground,     ..................  565 

349.  Guatemotzin  requests  Cortes  to  end  his  own  useless  life  with  his  poniard,         ..'...  569 

350.  Father  Olmedo  celebrates  mass  amidst  the  ruins  of  Guatemotzin's  capital, 570 

351.  Guatemotzin  and  his  favorite  officer  put  to  torture 571 

352.  Portrait  ofFernao  Magalhiles  (Magellan),  after  the  engraving  by  Ferd.  Selma, 572 

353.  In  the  Straits  of  Magellan  (from  a  photograph), 575 

354.  The  death  of  Magellan  on  the  island  of  Mactan 576 

355.  Natives  of  the  Ladrone  Islands, 578 

356.  The  Emperor  Charles  V.,  after  Titian, 580 

357.  Church  and  Hospital  of  Jesus  in  Mexico 581 

358.  Galleries  and  patios  of  the  Hospital  of  Jesus,  Mexico 581 

359.  Ignominious  and  excruciating  torture  of  a  Mexican  cacique, 582 

360.  Statue  of  Guatemotzin,  Mexico  (from  a  photograph) 583 

361.  Abject  homage  paid  to  Cortes  by  the  Mexican  magistrates  upon  his  sudden  return  from  the  expedition 

to  Honduras, 585 

362.  Entry  of  Cortes    into   Toledo,  surrounded  with    the   pomp   and   splendor  suited  the  conqueror  of  a 

mighty  kingdom, 586 

363.  Coat  of  Arms  granted  Cortes  by  Charles  V.,     . 587 

364.  Castle  of  Cuesta,  in  Seville,  where  Cortes  died,         ...........  588 

365.  Monument  erected  to  Cortes  in  the  Hospital  of  Jesus,  Mexico, 589 

66.  Tailpiece:   Captive  fastened  to    the  temalacatl,  fighting  a  gladiator,   both  armed  with  serrated  itztli 

swords 590 


T 


LIST  OK   TEXT   ILLUSTRATIONS.  85 1 


Book  III. — Conquest  ok  Peru. 


pack. 


367.  Francisco  Pizarro,  Conqueror  of  l'eru.      From  the  original  painting  in  the  palace  of  the  Viceroys  at 

Lima 50.2 

368.  Pedro  de  la  Gasca,  Viceroy  of  Peru.     From  a  portrait  in  the  sacristy  of  the  Santa  Maria  Magdalena  at 

Valladolid 5^2 

369.  Title-page:  The  Conquest  of  Peru -593 

370.  Headpiece:  Papal  tiara  (triple  crown),  stola.  and  breviary  (prayer  book).         .....  5^5 

371.  Boa-constrictor  fishing,        ................   599 

372.  Balboa,  armed  with  sword  and  buckler,  waist  deep  in  the  waters  of  the  Pacifii   ( i<  ean,  <  laims  it,  with  .ill 

it  contains,  for  the  King  of  Castile,        .............  601 

373.  Llama,  or  Peruvian  sheep 602 

374.  Pedrarias'  raiding  expedition  among  the  caciques  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  (Panama),     ....  605 

375.  Costume  of  executioner  XV.  and  XVI.  century,  ..........  607 

376.  Tailpiece:  Hollow  terra-cotta  figures,  so-called  Chibcha-antiquities.    Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin,     .  607 

377.  Initial  F:  Condor  devouring  a  llama.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,     ........  608 

378.  Pizarro,  Almagro,  and  Father  Luque  ratify  their  compact  before  the  altar  of  the  Must  High,   .         .         .  610 

379.  Peruvian  antiquities:    Necklace  made  of  nacre;   sling  made  of  human   hair  and  the  fibre  of  the  aloe. 

From  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  .612 

380.  Head-dress  made  of  feathers,  found  at  Facala,    ............  612 

381.  Poncho-like  shirt  found  at  Viracochapampa,        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .612 

382.  Foot-gear  found  at  Caxamalca  (the  modern  Cajamarca)  and  Viracochapampa,         .  .  .  612 

383.  Sandals  found  at  Cajabamba 612 

38a.   Painted  terra-cotta  vases  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon, f>i  5 

385.  Yellow  terra-cotta  vases  with  red  designs,  from  Huantar,  ..........  615 

3S6.  Quipus,  or  knotted  cords,  found  at  Paramango,  ..........  .  617 

387.  Abaccus,  or  counting  stone,  found  at  Chucana,  ..........  ■  617 

388.  Seat  with  top  made  of  the  maguey  tree,.      ...........  618 

389.  Idols  and  sceptres  (?)  found  in  the  guano  deposits  of  the  Macabi  Islands.     Christy  collection,  London,      6(8 

390.  Types  of  face-urns.     Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin,        ..........  618 

391.  Old  Peruvian  dies  for  decorating  (tattooing)  the  body.     Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin,         .         .         .621 

392.  Headpiece:  Ear  ornament  made'of  terra-cotta,  found  at  Chancay, 622 

393.  Initial  E.     Drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 622 

394.  Terra-cotta  water  pitchers  found  at  Ancon  and  the  neighborhood  of  Trujillo .  623 

395.  Terra-cotta  vases  found  in  the  ruins  of  Huaullang 623 

396.  Terra-cotta  vase  decorated  with  battle  scenes.      Ethnographical  Museum,  Berlin,     .         .  623 

397.  Battle-clubs  and  lance  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon •  624 

398.  Exterior  wall  of  the  fortress  of  Sacsahuaman,  near  Cuzco  (Cyclopean  style),  .  .  627 

399.  Wall  from  the  fortress  of  Ollantaitambo,     ..'....••■  •  627 

400.  Wall  from  the  northern  facade  of  the  palace  of  the  Inca,  Lake  Titicaca,  .  627 

401.  Woolen  bag,  and  work-basket  made  of  reeds,  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon,    .  628 

402.  Chulpas,  or  sepulchres,  near  Pimo, ■  °3° 

403.  Mummies  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon  (Stuebel  and  Reiss  :  The  Necropolis  at  Ancon).  .  630 

404.  The  Inca  Manco  Ccapac, .031 

405.  The  Coya  Mama  Ocllo  Huacco 

406.  The  Inca  Sinchi  Rocca "31 

407    The  Coya  Mama  Cora  Occllo °3' 

408.  The  Inca  Lloque  Yupanqui,  .... 631 

409.  The  Coya  Mama  Ccahuana •  D3' 

410.  The  Inca  Mayta  Ccapac "32 

411.  The  Coya  Mama  Cuca °32 

412.  The  Inca  Ccapac  Yupanqui,        .......•■•••■••  °32 

413.  The  Coya  Mama  Curihillpa °32 

414.  The  Inca  Rocca, "32 

48 


852  LIST   OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE. 

415.  The  Coya  Mama  Michay  Chimpo 632 

416.  The  Inca  Yahuar-Huaccac, 633 

417.  The  Coya  Cchoque  Cchicya  Hillpai, 633 

418.  The  Inca  Huira  Ccocha  (Viracocha), ,         .         .         .  633 

419.  The  Coya  Mama  Runto,      .' 633 

420.  The  Inca  Pacha  Ccutic,       ................  633 

421.  The  Coya  Mama  Anahuarqui,    ...............  633 

422.  The  Inca  Yupanqui,     .  634 

423.  The  Coya  Mama  Chimpo  Ocllo, 634 

424.  The  Inca  Tupac  Yupanqui,  ...............  644 

425.  The  Coya  Mama  Chimpu  Ocllu,. 634 

426.  The  Inca  Huayna  Ccapac,  ...............  634 

427.  The  Coya  Mama  Pillco   Huacco, 634 

428.  Interior  of  Chulpa,       .................  635 

429.  Warriors  during  the  reign  of  the  Incas.     Vase  painting, 635 

430.  The  Inca  Ihti-Cusihualpa  Chuascar  (Huascar),  ...........  636 

431.  The  Coya  Mama  Choqui 636 

432.  The  old  Inca  fortress  of  Paramanga  (from  a  photograph),  ..........  642 

433.  Fernando   Pizarro  following  with  the  rear  guard  up  the  steep  incline  of  the  mountain  pass,     .         .         .  642 

434.  The  Church  of  Belen  at  Cajamarca  (formerly  Caxamalca),  from  a  photograph,       .....  647 

435.  Initial  A:   Indian  woman  spinning;  initial  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,  the  figure  by  C.  Riou,  .         .         .  653 

436.  House  in  Cajamarca  (Caxamalca)  where  the  Inca  was  kept  confined  (from  a  photograph),     .         .         .  653 

437.  The  murder  of  the  Inca  Huascar  by  order  of  Atahualpa,  .........  655 

438.  Atahualpa,  from  an  engraving  in  Montanus'  Nieuwe  en  onbekende  Weereld,  .....  658 

439.  Mummy  hand,  found  at  Chimbote,     ..............  661 

440.  The  heartless  Pizarro  orders  the  unfortunate  Atahualpa  to  be  led  instantly  to  execution,         .         .         .  662 

441.  Interior  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  during  the  latter  reigns  of  the  Incas 663 

442.  Convent  of  San  Domingo  at  Cuzco,  erected  over  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  (from  a  photo- 

graph)  664 

443.  Branches  of  the  Cinchona  Lancifolia,  .............  665 

444.  Headpiece:   Peruvian  Sculpture,  head  of  man  at  Cabana,         .         .     •    .  • 666 

445.  do  granite  head  from  Pashash,     .         .         .         .         .      '„»         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  666 

446.  do  do         do       do         do  .         .         .         .         .         ■       '  r,        ■         ■         ■         ■         ■         ■         •  666 

447.  Initial  VV,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell,  . 666 

448.  The  excessive  cold  reigning  supreme  in  the  high  latitudes  of  the  Andes,  nearly  annihilates  Alvaiado's 

army,     ...................  667 

449.  Cathedral  of  Cuzco,  Plaza  Mayor  (from  a  photograph),     ..........  669 

450.  Bridge  over  the  river  Pachachaca,  made  of  the  fibre  of  the  maguey  (from  a  photograph)        .         .         .  670 

451.  The  cathedral  at  Lima  (from  a  photograph),      .........  ...  670 

452.  Almagro  crossing  the  Cordilleras  on  his  march  to  Chili,  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .671 

453.  Araucanians  (from  a  photograph), ' 672 

454.  The  assault  upon  the  Inca  fortress  of  Sacsahuaman  by  the  Spaniards,     .......  674 

455.  Church  of  the  Jesuits  at  Cuzco  (from  a  photograph),  ..........  677 

456.  Sculpture  from  the  Inca  gate  at  Cuzco,       .............  678 

457.  Sculpture  from  the  Inca. gate  at  Cuzco,        ..........  .         .  678 

458.  Alonzo  de  Alvarado,  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men,  crosses  a  pontoon  bridge,  on  the  road  to  Cuz<  o.  679 

459.  Alvarado  taken   prisoner  by  the  troops  of  Almagro,  ...........  679 

460.  Erythroxylon  Coca,     .................  680 

461.  Headpiece:  Old  Peruvian  sculpture — head  of  a  man  citing  a  ball  of  coca,      ......  681 

462.  Initial  P,  drawn  by  H.  I..  Bridwell 681 

463.  Pizarro's  well-disciplined  battalions  achieve  a  decisive  victory  over  the  veterans  of  Almagro,.         .         .  684 

464.  Almagro  appalled  when  hearing  sentence  of  death  pronounced  against  him,  ......  685 

465.  A  conquistador,  .................         .  688 

466.  Aborigines  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Napo,         . 689 

467.  Indian  hut  on  the  Amazon  River  (from  a  photograph) 690 

468.  Toucans 691 


LIST    OF    TKXT    ILLUSTRATIONS.  853 

469.  Gonzalo  Pizarro's  disastrous  expedition  in  quest  of  "El  Dorado,"  ........ 

470.  Genera]  view  "I  Lima,  with  the  plaza  de  Hacho  (bull  ring),  from  a  photograph, 

471.  Initial  li.  drawn  by  II.  L.  Bridwell .        .  693 

472.  The  murder  of  Pizarro ... 

473.  The  ruins  ofthe  Inca  palace  in  Lake  Titicaca, ...  697 

474.  Artillery  in  action,  early  part  of  the  XVI.  century .698 

475.  Execution  of  Diego  Almagro  the  younger,  at  Cuzco,  by  ordei  "I  \  ai  .1  de  1  astro,    .  .  699 

476.  Monument  of  Las  Casas,  executed  bj   D.  Antonio    Molto  \  Such,    ........  702 

4-7.  Portrait  ol   L.i>  Casas,  .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  .        ■  705 

478.  The  emperor  Charles  V.       ....  706 

479    The  governor,  Vaca  de  Castro,  imprisoned  in  the  common  gaol ,        ■        .  710 

480.  Knight  in  full  armor  (Gonzalo  Pizarro) 710 

481.  Ruins  of  the  old  Inca  fortress  of  Sacsahuaman,         ...........  711 

482.  Subterranean  1  anal  of  Mount  Sipa, 713 

583.  Headpiece:  old  Peruvian  textile  fabric.     Found  in  the  huaca  of  Granchimu, 714 

484.  Assassination  of  Pizarro's  lieutenant-governor  of  Charcas  by  Diego  Centeno,          .....  714 
485  Juan  Alvarez,  touched  by  remorse,  Or  moved  by  fear,  declares  his  prisoner,  Vaca  de. Castro,  to  be  hence- 
forward -  free, 715 

486.  Battle  of  Quito,  between  the  adherents  of  the  Viceroy,  Nunez  Vela,  and  the  rebels,  under  the  leadei  ship 

of  Pizarro  and  Carvajal,         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .716 

487.  Pizarro's  valor  and  Carvajal's  superior  military  talents  gain  the  victory  over  Centeno  at  Huarina,          .  725 
4S8.   Peruvian  antiquities  from  the  Necropolis  at  Ancon  (Stuebel  and  Rcis) 726 

489.  Initial  B,  Carvajal, 726 

490.  The  Inca  gate  at  Cuzco,      .  727 

491.  The  end  of  Carvajal,  729 

492  The  adherents  of  Pizarro  at  the  bier  of  the  decapitated  chieftain 731 


Y 


Book  IV. —  History  of  the  United  States. 


493.  Viking  boat,  or  dragon,  found  in  the  moor  in  Juetland 

494.  Burial  of  De  Soto  in  the  yellow  floods  of  the  Mississippi,  .         .         .         .         . 

495.  The  old  gate  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida, 

496.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh . 

497.  Charles  II.  of  England;  painting  by  Peter  Lely.         ....... 

498.  William  I'enn.     After  the  painting  by  Godfrey  Kncller  (1659-1723), 

499.  A  Wampanoag  Indian  in  full  war  paint,    ......... 

500.  Louis  XIV.  of  France, 

501.  Braddock  mortally  wounded  at  Fort  Duquesne.      Drawn  by  H.  A.  Ogden, 

502.  Washington  takes  command  of  the  Continental    army  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  July 

H.  A.  Ogden, .         .         . 

503.  The  retreat  of  the  Continental  forces  from  Long  Island.     Drawn  by  H.  A.  Ogden,  . 

504.  Washington  crossing  the   Delaware.      Painting  by  Leutze, 

505.  Washington  at  Valley  Forge.     Drawn  by  H.  A.  Ogden, 

506.  Marquis  Marie  Joseph  Paul  de  La  Fayette 

507.  Surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.     Drawn  by  H    A.  Ogden,    . 

508.  Washington  bids  farewell  to  his  officers.     Drawn  by  II .  A.  Ogden,  . 

509.  Portrait  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 

510.  Portrait  of  John  Adams,      ....... 

511.  Portrait  of  Napoleon  Buonaparte,        ..;•••• 

512.  Birdseyc  view  of  the  United  States  and  Canada 

513.  Portrait  of  Thomas  Jefferson 


I77S- 


Dra 


n  by 


741 
742 
747 

747 

747 

749 
750 

75' 
752 

754 
756 

757 
758 

759 
760 
761 

763 
764 
767 
768 
769 


§54 


LIST    OF   TEXT    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


51+ 
5'S 

5.6. 

517- 

518. 
519. 

520. 
521. 
522. 

523- 
524- 

525- 

526. 

527- 

528. 

529. 

53°- 

53' 

532- 

533- 

534- 

535- 

536. 

537- 

538. 

539- 

540. 

54i 

542. 
543- 
544- 

545- 

546. 

547- 


of  Osceola.     Draw 


n  by 


A.  R 


Wa 


Portrait  of  James  Madison,  ........... 

Governor  Hull,  after  his  defeat  at  Brownstown,  withdraws  his  troops  to  Fort  Detroit, 

The  White  House  at  Washington 

Portrait  of  James  Monroe,  . 

Portrait  of  John  Quincy  Adams, 

Portrait  of  Andrew  Jackson, 

The  attack  upon  Fort  King  by  the  Indian  force 

Portrait  of  Martin  Van  Buren,     . 

Portrait  of  Wm.  Henry  Harrison 

Portrait  of  John  Tyler, 

Portrait  of  Sam  Houston, 

The  Alamo,  San  Antonio,  Texas 

Portrait  of  John  C.  Calhoun, 

Portrait  of  Zachary  Taylor, 

Portrait  of  James  K.  Polk,  . 

Portrait  of  Henry  Clay, 

Portrait  of  Millard  Fillmore, 

Portrait  of  Franklin  Pierce, 

Portrait  of  Daniel  Webster, 

Portrait  of  James  Buchanan, 

Encounter  between  the  Monitor  and  Merrimac 

Portrait  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 

Portrait  of  General  W.  T.  Sherman 

Portrait  of  Admiral  Farragut,      , 

Portrait  of  Andrew  Johnson, 

The  Great  Eastern  landing  in  Trinity  Bay,  Newfoundland, with  the  end  of  the 

Portrait  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant  as  President, 

Portrait  of  President  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 

Portrait  of  President  James  A.  Garfield, 

Portrait  of  President  Chester  A.  Arthur, 

Portrait  of  President  Grover  Cleveland, 

Portrait  of  President  Benjamin  Harrison, 

Badge  of  the  Order  of  the  Cincinnatus, 

Tailpiece,     ...... 


in  Hampton  Roads, 


on  March 


8,  1 86 


hist 


ud, 


cable 


770 
771 
774 
778 
780 
781 
782 
783 
784 
784 
785 
785 
786 
787 
790 

791 
792 

792 
793 
794 
S06 
807 
S18 
820 
826 
S28 
S29 

833 
836 
836 

837 
838 

841 
857 


FULL  PAGE  MONOCHROME  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

In  Books  I,  II,  III,  and  IV. 


Portrait  of  Columbus,  known  as  the  "Glovio,"  supposed  to  have  been  painted  by  Del  Piombo.     On  the 
upper  portion  of  the  picture  are  the  words:   Columbus  Ligur  Novi  Orbis  Reptor  (Repertor) — The 
Genoese  Columbus,  discoverer  of  the  New  World  ;  underneath,  last  lines  of  a  letter,  dated  Granada, 
Feb.  6,  1  502,  containing  his  peculiar  signature,     ........       Opp.  Title-page. 

Emblematical  Title-page,  "  Voyages  and  Discoveries,"  with  copyright  imprint,  .....       8 

Portrait  of  Washington  Irving.     The  emblematical  surroundings  drawn  by  M.  Leloir  ;  the  portrait  copied 

from  a  dauguerreotype,  ...............     50 

Title-page:  "The  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus."     Drawn  by  Prof.  L.  C.  Lutz,  School  of 

Design,  Cincinnati 51 

Naval  fight  between  Mohammedan  and  Christian  galleys,  ...  ......     59 

Naval  battle  between  galleys,  fustae,  and  sea-going  vessels,  .........     63 


LIST   OK    FULL-PAGE    MONOCHROMK    ILLUSTRATIONS.  855 


1  ...1 


7.  The  vision  of  Columbus  while  begging  his  way  from  court  to  court.     Painting  by  Don  Manuel  Picolo      .    84 

8.  Columbus  submits  his  proposal  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  m  the  ( lty  oi  ( Iranada.    Painting  by  Frani  isco 

Jover Opp.  pag  92 

9.  The  conference  at  Salamanca.     Painting  by  Nicolo  Barabino  in  the  Orsini  palai  e,  <  lenoa,        .  Opp.  page  98 
10.  Columbus  distinguishes  himself  in  one  of  the  severest  campaigns  against  the  Moors  h>  his  personal 

prowess,  ..................  103 

n,  Boabdil  ("  El  Chico"),  last  king  of  the  Moors,  surrenders  the  keys  of  the  Alhambra  to  Ferdinand  and 

Isabella Opp.  page  id8 

12.  Isabella  oilers  to  pledge  her  jewels  to  defray  the  expenses  oi   the  lust   voyage  of  Columbus,  painting   by 

Mufioz  Degrain,    .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .115 

13.  Signing  of  the  articles  of  agreement  between   the  Spanish   sovereigns  anil   Columbus.       Drawn   by   K. 

Johnson Opp.  page  116 

14.  The  mutiny  aboard  the  Santa  Maria.      Drawn  by  F.  H.  Lungren Opp.  page  1  ',4 

15.  The  morning  of  October  12,  1492,  aboard  the  Santa  Maria.     Painting  by  Ch.  Rubens 138 

16.  Columbus  coasting  along  the  northern  shore  of  Cuba,         .        .  • 140. 

17.  Leave-taking  of  Columbus  from  his  friend  the  cacique  Guacanagari.    Drawn  by  N.  Maurin,     .Opp.  page  165 
tS.  Reception  ol  Columbus  at  the  court  of  Dun   Juan  II.  of  Portugal.    Drawn  by  N.  Maurin,  .         .Opp.  page  174 

19.  Columbus  rebukes  a  shallow  courtier  at  a  banquet  given  in  his  honor.    Drawn  by  N.  Maurin,      .Opp.  pagi    188 

20.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  in  search  of  the  lost  exploring  party,  beset  by  innumerable  hardships.     Drawn  by     ■ 

C.  Riou, 200 

21.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  sets  out  with  a  small  number  of  well-armed  men  for  the  golden  mountains  of  Cibao. 

Drawn  by  F.  II.  Lungren 213 

22.  The  Emperor  (chief-of-men)  Montezuma.    The  picture  reconstructed  from  data  furnished  1>\  the  Ramirez 

MSS.  and  Clavigero's  research.     Drawn  by  P.  Fritel,  .........  237 

23.  Columbus  celebrates  mass  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Misa.    Painting  by  Don  Jose  Arliuru  y  Morell,   Opp.   240 

24.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  brings  the  wild  Indian  chief  Caonabo,  bound  behind  him,  a  captive  to  Isabella.    Drawn 

by  E.  H.  Lungren, Opp.  page  254 

25.  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  received  by  the  Golden  Flower  of  Xaragua,  drawn  by  F.  U.  Lungren,  Opp.p  289 

26.  Roldan's  shameless  rabble,  with  the  Indian  slaves  distributed  among  them,  move  into  their  new  homes 

in  Bonao,  and  the  Vega  Real,        ..............   298 

27.  Don  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  proposes  to  the  old  adherents  of  Roldan  to  march  at  then  head  to  San  Domingo, 

drawn  by  N.  Maurin Opp.  /"'A'''  308 

28.  Anacaona,  pleased  with  the  gallant  appearance  and  ingratiating  manners  of  Hernando  de  Guevara, 

favors  his  attachment  for  her  daughter  Higuenamota,  drawn  by  A.  Deveria,    .         .         .Opp.  page  315 

29.  The  Homenaje,  or  castle  at  San  Domingo,  where  Columbus  was  confined,         ......  324 

30.  Villejo  informs  the  fettered  Columbus  that  he  has  peremptory  orders  to  take  him  a  prisoner  to  Spain, 

Eresco  by  Luigi  Oregon,       ............         -Opp.  page  331 

31.  The  ships  of  Columbus  threatened  with  entire  destruction  by  water-spouts 354 

32.  Diego  Mendez  braves  the  terrors  of  trie  open  ocean  in  an  Indian  canoe,  drawn  by  F.  II.  Lungren,      Opp.  384 
H.  The  city  of  t  iranada,  and  the  castle  of  the  Alhambra, 396 

34.  The  death  of  Columbus,  painting  by  F.  Ortega, Opp.  page  407 

35.  Portrait  of  Ferdinand  Cortes,  in  possession  of  the  Marquis  of  Salamanca 418 

36.  Title  page:   "The  Conquest  of  Mexico," 419 

37.  Aztec  priests  offering  up  a  living  human  heart  to  their  deity,  the  great  luminary  of  the  heaven-,  redrawn 

by  P.  Fritel,  from  data  obtained  from  Clavigero  and  the  Ramirez  MSS,     ......  429 

38.  The  Cacique  of  Tabasco  presents  Cortes  with  twenty  female  slaves,  among  them  Dona   Manna,  drawn 

by  N.  Maurin Opp. pages  443 

39.  Teutile,  Montezuma's  ambassador,  quits  the  Spanish  1  amp  with  looks  and  gestures  which  strongly  ex- 

press his  resentment,  drawn  by  N.  Maurin,  Opp. page  455 

40.  Cortes  commands  the  priests  of  Cempoala  to  desist  from  the  horrid  prai  t ■ .  e  of  sacrifii  ing  human  victims, 

drawn  by  N.  Maurin •  .Opp.page  473 

41.  The  Emperor  (chief-of-men)  Montezuma  Xocotzin  subjected  to  the  degradation  of  having  fetters  put 

upon  him,  drawn  by  N.  Maurin Opp.page-  505 

42.  Cortes  offers  to  take  the  vanquished  troops  of  Narvaez  into  his  service  as  partners  in  his  fortune,  and  on 

equal  terms  with  his  own  soldiers,  drawn  by  N.  Maurin, Opp.  page  525 


I 


S56  LIST    OF    FULL-PAGE    MONOCHROME    AND    COLORED    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


45.  Guatemotzin,  unable  to  stop  the  career  of  the  enemy  and  disdaining  the  idea  of  submitting  to  the  op- 
pressors of  his  country,  determines  not  to  survive  its  ruin,  drawn  by  C.  Colin,  .         .Opp.  page  566 

44.  Title  page  :  '*  The  Conquest  of  Peru," 593 

45.  Only  sixteen  daring  veterans  cross  the  line  Francisco  Pizarro  draws  in  the  sand  on  the  island  of  Gallo, 

to  follow  their  trusty  leader  south,  to  the  conquest  of  Peru  and  immortal  glory,  painting  by  A.  Liz- 
cano Opp.  page  615 

46.  Pizarro  before  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  painting  by  A.  Lizcano,        .......  />  tee  bi<) 

47.  The  islanders  of  Puna  defend  themselves  with  such  obstinate  valor,  that  Pizarro  requires  six  months  in 

subjugating  them,  drawn  by  A.  Deveria Opp.  page  624 

48.  The  Inca  (Emperor)  and  Coya  (Empress),  accompanied  by  their  Ccumillu  (dwarf),  redrawn  from  de- 

scription furnished  by  the  Inca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  .........  629 

49.  Ferdinand  Cortes  and  Hernando  de  Soto  in  the  camp  of  the  Inca  at  Caxamalca,  drawn  by  C.  Colin,  Opp.  />  647 

50.  Atahualpa  orders  the  sacrifice  of  a  virgin  of  the  sun,  and  above  a  thousand  victims  are  doomed  to  ac- 

company his  father  Huana  Capac,  to  the  tomb  (see  note  page  735),  drawing  by  A.  Deveria,  Op.  p.  661 

51.  Manco  Capac  lays  siege  to  the  city  of  Cuzco,  painting  by  O.  Graeff, Opp.  page  674 

52.  The  sickness  of  Las  Casas,  painting  by  Hebert, -''/A  Page  7°2 

53.  Portrait  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  after  the  engraving  by  the  Baron  Desnoyers  ;  made  while  Franklin  acted 

as  our  ambassador  at  the  court  at  Versailles 738 

54.  Title  page :  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  drawn  by  L.  F.  Plympton,       .......  739 

55.  Signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4,  1776,  painting  by  Trumbull 755 

56.  Portrait  of  George  Washington,  after  Henry  Lefort's  engraving Opp.  page  764 

57.  Battle  between  the  Essex  and  two  English  ships  off  Valparaiso,  March,  1813 775 

58.  Portrait  of  A.  Lincoln,  after  a  photograph  made  in    i860,   .........  page  797 

59.  Admiral  Farragut,  with  his  victorious  squadron,  reaches  New  Orleans  after  capturing  forts  St.  Philip 

and  Jackson,  drawn  by  A.  R.  Waud 805 

60.  General  Pickett's  gallant  charge  against  the  Union  forces  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  Gettysburg,  July  3,  1863, 

drawn  by  A.  R.  Waud,  ...............  809 

61.  Portrait  of  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  S12 

62.  Bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  and  adjacent  forts,  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  by  the  Union  fleet 

under  Admiral  Dupont,  April  7,  1S63,  drawn  by  A.  K.  Waud,     .  815 

63.  Sheridan's  famous  ride  from  Winchester  to  Cedar  Creek,  October  19,  1864,       ......  821 

64.  Sheridan's  attack  upon  Lee's  army  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  April  9,  1865,  drawn  by  A.  K   Waud,.  825 

65.  Massacre  of  General  Custer  and  command,  on  the  Little  Big  Horn  River,  June  25,  1876,  drawn  by  A.  R. 

Waud S31 

66.  Inauguration  of  President  Garfield  on  the  east  portico  of  the  White  House,  March  4,  1881,       .         .         .  835 

67.  Battleships  of  1800,  and  modern  ironclad,  drawn  by  H.  L.  Bridwell, 839 


T' 

FULL  AND  DOUBLE  PAGE  COLORED  ILLUSTRATIONS 

In  Books  I,  II,  III,  and  IV. 

1.  Embarkation  and  departure  of  Columbus  from  the  port  of  Palos.      Painting  by  Ricardo  Balaca,        .  Opp.  125 

2.  The  landing  of  Columbus  on  the  island  of  Guanahani,  Oct.  12,  1492.    Painting  by  Dioscoro  Puebla,  .  Opp.  143 
3    Reception  of  Columbus,  on  his  return  from  his  first  voyage,  by  their  catholic  majesties  in   Barcelona. 

Painting  by  Ricardo  Balaca,.         ...........         .Opp.  page  185 

4.  The  battle  of  Santa  Cruz.     Painting  by  O.  Graeff, Opp.  page  203 

5.  Affectionate  reception  of  Columbus  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  after  his  arrival  in  Spain,  loaded  with 

chains  by  order  of  Bobadilla.     Painting  by  Francisco  Jover Opp.  page  335 


LIST   OF   COLORED   ILLUSTRATIONS   AND    MAI'S. 


857 


6.  Cortes  cuts  off  all  chances  ol  h i r,  discontented  followers  abandoning  the  enterprise,  by  scuttling  his  ships 

Painting  by  O.  Graefl , Opp.  page  466 

7.  Coitus  units  with  obstinate  resistance  on  entering  Tlasi  alan  territory,       ....."■'     479 

8    The  "  Noche  Triste "  (The  night  of  sorrows).     Painting  by  O.  Graeff, ^ 

9.  Perilous  ascent  of  the  Cordilleras  de  los  Andes  b)  Pizarro ^, 

10.  Father  Valverde  addresses  the  Inca  Atahualpa  in  the  plaza  at  Caxamalca.    Painting  by  O.  Graeff,  "        "     651 

11,  The  daughter  of  Powhattan,  renowned  Pocahontas,  saves  the  life  of  Captain  Smith.     After  the  painting 

by  V.  Nehlig Opp.  page  743 


T 


MAPS. 

PAGR. 

1.  The  Juan   de  la  Cosa  Map.     The  first  map  made  of  the  New  Discoveries.     Naval  Museum,  Madrid. 

Inside  front .  1 

2.  Nautical  map  of  Diego  Ribero,  made  in  1529.     Supposed  to  be  a  copy  of  the  one  on  which  Pope  Alex- 

ander VI.  made  his  famous  line  of  demarkation.     Grand  Ducal  Library  at  Weimar. 

Opp.  inside  front 

3.  Ocean  side  of  Sir  Martin  Behem's  (Behaim)  (ilobus.     The  proper  position  of  the  American  continent 

indicated  by  dotted  lines.     Preserved  in  Nuremberg. 73 

4.  Landfall  and  discoveries  of  Columbus  on  his  first  trip,  according  to  various  authorities.     The  map  copied 

from  No.  761  of  the  English  Admiralty  charts 146 

5.  Place  of  shipwreck  of  the  Santa  Maria.  Copied  from  the  map  in  the  Hydrographic  office,  Washington,  D.C.  157 

6.  The  first   map  made  of  the  island  of  Cuba.         ............  235 

7.  Map  of  the  island  of  Hispaniola  anil  its  provinces,  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  and  conquest.   .         .         .  251 

8.  South  America,  according  to  the  Globus  constructed  by  J.  Schocner,  1515 603 

9.  Lake  Titicaca,  or  Chucuito. 725 

10.  Map  showing  the  routes  of  Columbus  on  his  four  voyages  between  Spain  and  America.     Opp.  rear  inside  <  <>7'er 

11.  Map  showing  the  march  of  conquest  of  Fernando  Cortes  to  Mexico.  ....      Rear  inside  cover 

12.  Map  of  Peru  at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  Conquest Rear  inside  cover 


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